Maokai the Treat; Theory-Crafting

[quote=Asturd]Hey there, I am not very experienced with theory-crafting, but I have decided to come to this website and ask on the forums that have helped me with my guide/builds and knowledge of champions. Maokai, the new character coming up soon seems to be a support class. Kind of reminds me of the WoW Tree Form :P Was just wondering your thoughts on his possible rune outlook.[/quote]

[quote=Asturd]“I will use this power until I am free of it.” –Maokai Abilities: Arcane Smash: Maokai slams the ground, the force of which knocks nearby enemies back and sends an arcane shockwave forward damaging and slowing his enemies. Twisted Advance: Maokai dissolves into a cloud of arcane energies. He regrows near a target enemy, dealing damage and rooting it in place. Sapling Toss: Maokai hurls a sapling, dealing damage on impact. The sapling becomes implanted in the ground warding a nearby area. When enemies approach, the sapling attacks, exploding in an arcane blast that damages enemies. Vengeful Maelstrom (Ultimate): Maokai shields his allies by drawing power from hostile spells and attacks, reducing non-tower damage done to allied champions in the area. Maokai can prolong the effect as long as he has mana to spend on it. When the effect ends, Maokai unleashes the absorbed energy to deal damage to enemies within the vortex. Sap Magic (Passive): Each time a champion near Maokai casts a spell, he gains a charge of Magical Sap. When he has 5 charges, his next melee attack drains energy from his target, healing Maokai for a percentage of his maximum HP. _________________ From : http://www.leagueoflegends.com/news/new-champion-approaches-maokai-twisted-treant[/quote]

[quote=Jebus McAzn][[Greater Mark of Insight]] [[Greater Seal of Clarity]] [[Greater Glyph of Shielding]] [[Greater Quintessence of Fortitude]] Standard tanky caster runes, really. I'm going to play him very much like Malphite. Start with [[Doran's Shield]] or [[Doran's Ring]], I guess. [[Sapphire Crystal]] may be viable. Not so sure about boots on this guy, but I'd say [[Sorcerer's Shoes]] or [[Mercury's Treads]]. [[Ninja Tabi]] if necessary. [[Banshee's Veil]] is going to be ESSENTIAL on this guy. [[Randuin's Omen]] might be as well, since you can keep enemies in your ultimate for a longer period of time so you can catch all of them in it when you pop it. Other really good items for him look to be [[Frozen Heart]], because of the added mana. Other than that, I'd say build him like a tank.[/quote]

[quote=Asturd]Very nice man. Yeah, atm im playing Nasus and I freakin love it. next will be his brother.. ;D MORE THEORYS OF CRAFTERS![/quote]

[quote=Kael312]yeah, i was thinking frozen heart, banshees, warmogs, force, merc treads, and randuins[/quote]

[quote=SatansFate]I think [[Randuin's Omen]] is gonna be essential for this guy. Initiate with that dissolvy thing, pop Randuin's active and pop ult. [[Sunfire Cape]] too, since he's gonna be in the middle of teamfights. [[Thornmail]] would be situational. [[Tiamat]] could provide some interesting splash damage :D and I agree with Jebus, [[Frozen Heart]] and [[Banshee's Veil]] would be perfect.[/quote]

[quote=Trojan995]So are we building him 100% tanky DPS? I want to look at his ratios/flat damage before I decide what kind of items I'll buy for him.[/quote]

[quote=Jebus McAzn]I really see him as being extremely similar to Malphite - just better in certain areas and worse in others. W-->Q looks like an extremely potent disrupting and displacing combo. See Nunu channeling his ult? Knock him back. The same goes for Karthus, Fiddle, Katarina, etc. He's got a ward with his E that he can just use to place in brush early-game and use for the damage late-game. Q is amazing harass and zone, from the looks of it. I think [[Seismic Shard]] when I see it. The ultimate is just a superb team-fighting ability. He doesn't seem so much like a tank as he does a tanky caster, like Singed. Maybe [[Rod of Ages]], [[Abyssal Scepter]], and [[Rylai's Crystal Scepter]] would be options on him.[/quote]

[quote=Trojan995]I think if we're going for intense mana and tankiness, starting off with a [[glacial shroud]] might be a wise choice.[/quote]

[quote=Traa1703]Considering his passive drains health from for every 5 spells used. I would think that Maokai + Vlad or any other champion which use no mana and has a ton of staying power would synergise well. And do you think Twisted advance would break turret aggro the same way that alpha strike does?[/quote]