Why Play AP Maokai?

You know whats more annoying than walking into one of Teemo's mushrooms? Walking into a bush and getting completely melted by jumping saplings. This entire build is centered around Maokai's E, Sapling Toss. This ability has the potential to become extremely annoying and powerful if used correctly. You will have the enemy second guessing hiding in a bush with the fear of being completely destroyed by untargetable sapling demons that are going to leave them tearing their hair out. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing an enemy player walk into a bush only to be jumped by your sapling minions from afar and granting you a kill. However, your saplings aren't the only ability that hurts. Since we are building AP, the rest of your abilites will do much more damage than normal. Let's get into it!

Runes

Arcane Comet provides amazing poke, and will rack up thousands of damage over the course of the game, so always take it. Maokai has serious mana problems early game, so be sure to take Manaflow Band to help with this. You want to spam your saplings as much as you can, so Transcendence is the best rune in that category. Scorch will also rack up hundreds of damage over the course of the game and provide even more power to your saplings. You secondary tree consists of Magical Footwear to reduce the cost of your items (they are a bit expensive for a support) and Biscuit Delivery to help with the early game sustain. Bring +9 AP (both bonuses) and +6 Armor.

Spells

Teleport is a great choice for this build so you can instantly come back to lane or roam when there is a teamfight being set up. Other spells like Ignite fall off in value late game, so I always go with Teleport.

Flash is a standard spell. It is a good gap closer and escape tool.

Full Build Breakdown

Starting Items:

Spellthief's Edge: A great item for Maokai support. Not only can you ward later on in the game, which will be paramount to your playstyle, but you also gain a good amount of mana regeneration for the early game and extra gold, which is perfect for your early game.

Control Ward: For vision, as health potions won't give much value because of Maokai's passive.

Mythic Choice:

Liandry's Torment: The best item on this list because of the active burn and the ability to melt tanks. Tanks are the best way to counter this build because it will be harder to poke them out of lane, so always take this item. Build Liandry's also solves your early game mana problems because of the huge mana pool it gives you. The mythic passive is also very helpul to spam your abilities once you get enough legendary items built up.

Legendary Choices:

Demonic Embrace: This item is perfect because of its damage based on max health. The whole point of this build is to do as much damage as you can with a few saplings, and max health damage is the best way to do this because it is the most versatile form of damage. The extra health is also welcome because you will be a squishier champion without building tank items and runes.

Morellonomicon: Grievous Wounds are important against lifesteal and healing champions. The constant poke that you will dish out with this build will make it so it is extremely hard to heal and sustain in lane or in battle, forcing out enemies much more effectively. The health bonus again will make you tankier.

Void Staff and Rabadon's Deathcap: We have already built your utility items, all that is left is boosting your ability power and magic penetration, which these two items are best for.

Boots:

Sorcerer's Shoes: The extra magic penetration will help break down magic resist and make your abilities more effective.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity: Take this if the enemy team is not magic-resist heavy or if they are squishy. The reduced cooldown of your abilities will prove more useful than extra magic penetration.

Elixirs:

Elixir of Sorcery: If you need more AP and magic penetration.

Elixir of Iron: If you have trouble surviving. You will more likely take Elixir of Iron because if you are in this late in the game you are probably struggling to stay alive.

Passive: Sap Magic

Sap Magic provides some incredible sustain. This passive allows you to stay in lane without backing to base to heal, leaving mana the only problem of sustain you have left, which is why we build Spellthief's Edge for our starting item.

Q: Bramble Smash

Bramble Smash is a great peeling tool on Maokai and a good source of minion wave control since it is an AOE ability and has a knock back on top of a low cooldown. You will want to prioritize this ability second, after your E.

W: Twisted Advance

Twisted Advance is a great engage tool and will have a high base damage when you build your AP items. It is best to use this ability when you know you have saplings nearby, so you can engage and if needed, kite the enemy near a bush with saplings.

E: Sapling Toss

Sapling Toss is your bread and butter. Use this ability as much as your mana allows (leaving reserves in case of emergency escapes in the early game). Placement is key for this ability. You typically want to place your saplings in a bush that enemies will hide in for a surprise advantage. It is also more effective to place them further up the lane so that you have much more map control. Don't spread out your saplings too much, typically, you want at least 2 or more in one bush before you focus on populating another bush with your tricky minions. Keep the pressure constant. I cannot stress enough to how important it is to keep pressure with your saplings and prevent the enemy on closing in on your lane.

R: Nature's Grasp

There are many ways to use Nature's Grasp. The best way to use it in my opinion is to push enemies out of your lane to give you time to place saplings and take back map control. It is also a great engage/follow up to a teamfight, so make sure you stay vigilant looking for an opportunity to use it.

Early Game

We unlock E first to be able to establish dominance in lane. Place your saplings as far up lane as you can, usually in the closest bush to the enemy tower. It is also wise to place a sapling in bushes that the enemy jungler can gank from (place a control ward there too). The key to playing Maokai as a good support is mana conservation. Don't waste your mana on useless engages that will ultimately end up in you or your enemy escaping with minimal consequence to either team. If the enemy is aware of your sapling placement they will stay away from bushes. If this happens, it is good to place your saplings closer to the edge so that you can lure minions into them and use them as a farming tool instead of just letting them expire. Your first back should be when you have enough gold for Lost Chapter. If you don't, buy Sapphire Crystal instead to help your mana problems. Maokai is weak early game, so don't commit too hard to engages, as they should not be your priority. Your goal is to poke your enemies out of lane first and to establish lane control while keeping your support safe to freely farm.

Midgame

This is about the time a team loses their first tower and the first or second drake has been taken. You should have your ultimate up by now and Liandry's Anguish should be or be close to being finished. Midgame is where Maokai shines. Your new goal is to roam and help teammates by establishing an even further map control. Nothing interrupts a gank or a potential teamfight better than poking your enemies into second thoughts with your saplings. Midlane and bot lane will most likely be your main areas, since these are popular lanes for pushing and teamfights. Another great thing to do while in the midgame is to disrupt the enemy jungler. Place your saplings near objectives and commonly crossed bushes to maximize your poke potential. The damage that your saplings provide will punch a hole right through the enemy jungler's pathing, as they will have to go back to base to heal after too much poke from your saplings. Your ultimate is the next most powerful point of control in the midgame. Constantly look for potential teamfights or engages with it, or take back a losing lane by pushing out enemies with it as well.

Late Game

Maokai falls off during the late game, as midgame is his strongest phase. Your saplings will be itemized against, however, this does not mean you are useless. If you have a carrying teammate, Maokai is great at setting them up for attacks and keeping them alive. All of your abilities provide CC, so you can constantly keep enemies tied up or avoiding your CC, giving your carry an opportunity to attack. Using your E still remains very important, especially if the enemy team has a composition of sqiushy champions, your poke will still be very powerful against them. Nature's Grasp will also still be important in teamfights and will be on a very low cooldown in the late game, so you should keep looking for opportunities to use it.