It's the big tree's free week and I finally took some time to try out that BattleMage/TankSupport for myself. Having mostly been playing as support caster for a while now (mains being the Minotaur and the Gargoyle), this embodyment of Nature's Wrath seemed an interesting addition to my roster.

This build while therefor focus on Maokai's role as a dependent engaging tank as well as being a consistent crowd control threat.

This rune build has the purpose of providing some form of lasting usefulness to Maokai's stats:

[*] All Reds and 1 Quint of Magic Pen to allow some constant squish stomping
[*] Yellows as Mana Reg/5 being the only regen we'll grab
[*] Split the Blues as both Flat and /Lvl Magic Def
[*] Two Movespeed Quints should garantee you a front row to every team fight

Nothing fancy as far as masteries selection goes ; plain 9-21-0 without spending on Flat HP

The starting potion, your passive and carefulness should allow for a decent staying power.

I know, this build is quite expensive but considering the reasonable amount of care put into scaling some Ability Power into this item composition, the farming capacities of the Tree should get you close if a game gets somewhat long.

At Fountain, start with Saphirre Crystal and a potion of both kind.

[*] Early Rod of Ages seems mandatory on a hero with such a limited mana pool that is expected to sustain threat for the whole of a fight without being an auto-attacker. The scaling over time helps you keep an edge as far as stats go while getting the tanking items that will make you stay up front.

[*] Mercury's Threads helps removing those crippling CrowdControl from you while being the major part of your Magic Def until late game appart from your runes. If there is no significant stuns/silences then Sorcerer's might be the way to go.

[*] Frozen Heart = Bigger Mana Pool, Debuffs/Disables quickly available and a BEEFCAKE amount of Defense. All good for someone who wrecks havok among the enemy team but you've also got a sweet bonus Aura of Debuff that Attack Speed. If they want their carry to hurt something, they gotta start by you and that's what your support role asks for.

Next two items are interchangeable as they fill the same roll but either as Buff or Debuff:
[*] Will of Ancients boosts your teams Ability Damage output while giving a slight Health return for every cast. Especially good if at least two other heroes can make good use of this and you fell you can still take the heat from their casters.

[*] Abyssal Scepter will also make your team's spells deal that much more damage but you'll also get a nice chunk of Magic Resist.



Last item is your choice between some of the items that will add some more output to your combos and make you an unkillable machine :

-Rylai's Staff gets you more HP and makes all your AOE spells SLOW the enemy
-Zhonya's Hourglass lets you Take a Break from punishment while upping your Damage
-Void Staff garantees you still get noticed when you DISH THE PAIN

As for now I've selected exhaust for it being your role to shut down carries and prevent them from hitting your teamates; the debuff from the masteries gives you an extra edge against those squishies.

Ghost is selected for being an all around reliable movement booster but you might want to switch it for Flash, Ignite, Clarity or Teleport. It all depends if your role in the team as to switch to more of a offense/gank or support/defensive role.

So there we have it. Please help me improve this guide by suggesting constructive ideas as this is my first guide yet for a hero I don't get to know inside and out yet.