Maokai, the insanely large, possibly mad, and absolutley pissed treant hailing from the forest of Fang...Twisted Treeline. Ah how i remember my first game with him. I blew. Since modifying my build, I have come upon Maokai's little role in LoL. This role is not tanking, nor DPS, but brute strength disruptive tactics. A mix of defensive and AP items will allow Maokai to fill his role as a semi-tank while still meteing out Mama Earths primal justice to his foes. Thsi guide will not be going over Runes or Masteries. Look at what I put and rely on the fact that that setup will serve you well in every match.

Arcane Smash- this is your spam skill. Youll use it in the Sapling Arcane Smash one two combo to farm. Youll use it in the Twisted Advance Arcane Smash 1-2 combo to gank. Youll use it to knock up enemies and run away, and to last hit running champions. its important to note that Moakai actually projects a tiny shockwave only the slightest bit bigger than he is. anything caught behind you(like a chasing Yordle) will be promptly midget tossed into the air. youll max this first for its great damage output, low cooldown, and diverse utility.

Twisted Advance- This is a simple skill really. Use it to take out running champions. Use it on enemy minions to get away. Finally, use it on pesky Yordles who stray from their team. Youll max this second for its damage, and for its also well endowed utility.

Sapling Toss- Tossing screaming babies taht internally combust might by slightly disturbing. this isnt so for Moakai, because hes pretty much teabagging you. Yes, hes a tree, and technically speaking, those would be his testichahas. Use these to harrass, and if your lucky, last hit a fleeing champ. Do not use sapling outside of harrassment and the 1-2 Arcane Smash farming combo.

(Bonus!) Wardling Toss- Im listing this a whole seperate ability simpliy because its so imperative that you constantly keep a sapling in the ganky looking bush. Yeah, the one with the hopeful and hungry eyes staring out of it. So one of your three treesticles belongs to your team at all time. If it explodes and its on cooldown, the next one goes to the bush. the only exception is if it wil result in a kill by throwing it. Youll level this last for its low key contribution to Moakai's overall fighting ability.


Vengeful Maelstrom- For awhile, i couldnt understand this skill for the life of me. The day i discovered this build, I 1v1 a fed Jax. Brilliant stood in my ulti for a good ten seconds. I felt sad looking at his lifeless form. Master alien fighters only scream when you crush them. God how i miss the squeaks. Since your absorbing damage, staying in your little arena tops off your tanking potential. Youll level this at the customary ultimate levels for its importance to the team.

The items are simplistic really. By purchasing defensive items with AP stats you really get to see Moakais tanky interior start to shine through his soft AP exterior by about midgame. First off a Meki pendant, it is important to pick this up first to allow you to constantly spam your sapling and Arcane Smash. After you brutally rape your opposing lane mates with saplings, kiling one with a well placed screaming baby grenade, pat yourself on the back and go buy your Boots of Speed. After farming up the gold for Chalice of Harmony and Mercury Treads, back and buy both. Its imperative that you participate in at least two ganks with heavy farming to obtain you RoA. Failure to obtain RoA by the twenty minute mark can result in peeling bark, wilted leaves, and a vulnerable landscaping option. From this point forward the remaining items in the setup simply fall into place. Arrange their build order around the situation at hand. Nukers got you down? Lichbane. Heavy meele? Hourglass. these items dont make you a tank, but they do allow you to do your disruptive job. Like squishing yordles and listening to the sounds they make.

My first mistake with Maokai was relying to heavily on his sapling as a primary skill. So ill lay out some ground rules. Sapling at lvl 1. ALWAYS. Maokai isnt killing anything at lvl 1 unless the enemy lanemates are drunk, lagging, or stricken by short term ******ation. Your godsend skill is Arcane Smash. Beginning at lvl 2 you will begin to pick only this spell when it is available, picking up your ultimate at the costamary levels and twisted advance whenever Arcane Smash is not available. Sapling comes last, and besides level 1 should not be advanced until you have absolutely no other option.

I advise Ghost and Clarity. Ghost because your a tree and your not walking South, and Clarity because with your passive, and your spammable ability to punch things(like Yordles) youll find that the more mana you have, the more you can punch, the more you can punch, the more you can take advantage of your passive. No mana. No Punch. No punch. No life. It doesnt help that you jsut spampunch to win anyways. So just take them, trust me on that as well.

Okay. Apparently people have to learn how to smash things with their fists. So here it goes.

Early Game- Dispite your buffed health, you are still weak, youll want to play it out as a caster until you get rank two of Arcane Smash. Costantly ward the most likely occupied bush, using the extra saplings inbetween you wardling to harass. Once you get level two of Arcane smash, begin tentatively wading back and forth into combat. At this point you have three jobs with your saplings, and with no CDR that means you have to really get the saplings you have right. Youll learn that you can 1-2 combo the minions by throwing a sapling between the ranks of enemy minions, running up, and Arcane Smashing the whole wave. this makes Maokai into an effective farmer. On a side note, attempt to catch enemy champions in your Smash, and use its knockback to escape pursuing champions.

Mid Game- Your saplings are dropping. You feel bigger, clumsy almost wading into real combat for the first time in the match. You doubt your build. You doubt your abilities. this is not the phase you initiate in. Run in WITH your team. once into the meele action pop you ultimate, and start smashing away. Your canceling casts, autoattacks, and fleeing champions. If you win, mop up using your Twisted Advance and Arcane Smash 1-2 combo.

End Game- You have big saplings now! You feel the part, you look the part, and if youve been listening to me at all, your enemies will be running from you like Grishnákh running from Treebe... Maokai... Now you use twisted advance to initiate. Get in, pop your ultimate, bang your fists on the ground. Bang the ground some more. Twisted Advance, bang the ground again. Headshot Veigar with a sapling. one more bang and your done.

Thanks for reading. This is my first guide, and i expect trolls. Hell, I keep a couple saplings around just to watch them run :D