I beg of you to vote if its good or bad, I harbor no bad will to anyone who disagrees with the build, but please read the whole way down before downvoting me like this idiot, I do suggest items for late game, the item build above is just the core.



^
Truly the troll comment of the century because it makes him seem stupid and nobody else.

Hello, My name is Merlux, and I bring you yet another guide nobody will read. :D


Anyways, dont read this section, it has nothing to do with Mao... Im just bragging.

I like tanks, My overall Wins/Losses/Leaves is... 708/710/0
Why do I have more losses than wins? I like my troll games and I experiment with alot of builds for the fun of it. (AD Heimer, Tank Yi, AD Ryze, Tank Eve etc etc.)

So when a new champion comes out I really enjoy playing them and trying EVERYTHING everybody suggests first, then give my opinion on it then I continue onto the unorthodox method. I will be trying AD Mao soon.

Anyways, I read alot of the guides on mobafire and I thought they were all pretty good, but here's my take on it... Here goes.

Why do you like trees? BECAUSE THEY ARE BENIFICAL! DUH! They provide support for everybody, no tree, no oxygen, and no awesome.

Maokai is a Support tank, He can't carry but built AP and Tank, he's a monster. Fortunately hit bite is worse than his bark. I usually start out with the grenade pikmen because its awesome harass, but if I see there is like a gangplank in my lane or anyone else with burst potential ill grab snare first. (Tryndamere's scared now)

Maokai is not a carry, so when you get like 20 kills, theres still a heavy chance you wont win because no matter how high you get his AP, his ratio's will limit you severely. So if there is another Mao, he's pretty beastly. So.. here's my advice. You want HP, AP and Mana. Grab RoA,
"BUT MERLUX! EVERYONE ELSE SUGGESTS THAT!"
"Haha! Little Johnny. Shut up. Why are you talking? DONT SPEAK UNLESS SPOKEN TOO!"

Rod of Ages lets you spam your pikmen, survive when using a snare, and.. well.. rape face until Riot decides that this build is too OP and.. well.. Nerfs the living hell out of him. Next item is Rylai's Scepter.
"BUT MER-- AHH! NO NO, NOT THE CAGE, IT'S DARK IN THERE!"
"Ok, Now that Johnny is in time out.. (Peers at Johnny..) We will talk later.. (Turns back to audience) I am going to tell you exactly why Rylai's scepter is amazing."

Rylai's scepter gives you more health. Your a magical tree, HP is good, AP is good. Plus, it adds utility. The slow is extremely benifical because you are literally the SLOWEST CHAMP IN THE GAME. Yes I said it, you wont break 400 movespeed with the gear you will want to have to do proper tanking. So if you can't beat them... MAKE THEM JOIN YOU!

BAD JOKE ALRET.
Two tall trees, a birch and a beech, are growing in the woods. A small tree begins to grow between them, and the beech says to the birch, "Is that a son of a beech or a son of a birch?"

The birch says he cannot tell. Just then a woodpecker lands on the sapling. The birch says, "Woodpecker, you are a tree expert. Can you tell if that is a son of a beech or a son of a birch?"

The woodpecker takes a taste of the small tree. He replies, "It is neither a son of a beech nor a son of a birch. It is, however, the best piece of ash I have ever put my ****** in."

So.. we are into the situational items. Why is Maokai dangerous? Because with his core build, he's already 3k hp, he's got pretty dangerous damage, and people want to focus other people already, so time to make you more dangerous so people have no choice but to hit you while your team beats your opponent to death, take the picture of his wife and all the money in his wallet.

It's time to grab items that make people cry, so if they do manage to get around you, your still there and ready to rape.

I suggest Lich Bane. You have to hit **** for your passive to heal. Am I right? So why not make that hit hard? Grab Lich Bane if your getting consistant farm and assists. It allows you that extra nuke and damage so that your still fierce. Your a tree with big hands and your probably hitting for about 100, so with lich bane, you can focus people 1v1 and not worry too much on kiting as a melee. Runspeed bonus as well so your finally keeping up with people or running from people (You should never really have to run away with a good team unless your 1v5, then you might die.)

4th Item I would suggest... would be.. Abyssal Scepter. You have to get close to opponents, why not make them regret it? Abyssal scepter works extremely well with your ultimate. Its more AP, and MR. So another tanky AP item ftw.

Last items should be anything that the enemy team consists of mostly, Too physical or there is a Yi, and Trynd. Grab Thornmail, you have the health to mitigate their damage and the extra armor is excellent, paired with being in your ult. Your awesome. Grab Force of Nature if they are AP, or your just buying junk because your bored. Extra runspeed on Mao is the best thing.

I personally like the Runspeed quints on Mao for the reason that he's slow and good harass and gank's come from speed and spam.

Reds I like the Magic pen

Blues Magic resist

Yellows Mana regen.

Honestly, what works for you is best... but.. Bah whatever, I will most likely get trolled on this section if anything. Everyone has their own opinion on runes and masteries.

Credit goes to Omnibus.

http://i.imgur.com/d6DJS.jpg

I won't be adding screenshots, or anything like that because well.. I don't have a reason to if nobody reads this. Please take into account before voting up or down on it if your not ending up with a team that is just terrible. Maokai should not be getting ton's of kills, he should be that invincible wall that stand between you and your teammates dropping towers, surviving group fights, eating babies and noobs and 1v1's are pretty easy vs physical carries.

So I really hope you enjoyed my bad jokes and my guide, thanks for reading :)
and your comments are required to vote so that I know exactly who to hunt down if I get downvoted. Lol.