Every figure shows its source. Where a source is missing, the number is a placeholder — and it is never written as fact.

By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Maokai Build and Runes — Support, Jungle and Top · Patch 26.20

the Twisted Treant

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (1,692 games).

Maokai, the Twisted Treant, dashes untargetable to a target with Twisted Advance and roots everything his Nature's Grasp wall rolls over. Master+ played him as a support more than anything, Aftershock was the usual keystone, and his two leading paths share no item: Liandry's Torment first, or Locket of the Iron Solari. Thresh and Lulu were the supports he struggled most against. He had the better of Pyke.

TankSupport

Patch 26.18 · Support · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 1,692 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Support)

CTier
Win Rate
48.2%
Pick Rate
2.6%
Ban Rate
0.1%

1,692

Games

High

Confidence

Win rate by lane

  • Support49.7% · 1,109 games
  • Jungle45.3% · 364 games · small sample
  • Top43.9% · 212 games · small sample

Most common path

31 games

38.7%Win Rate

Start
FlashIgnite

Highest win rate path

10 games

70.0%Win Rate

Start
FlashIgnite

Other first item

19 games

57.9%Win Rate

Start
FlashHeal

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 16.0% of games·50.2% win rate over 271 games.

Primary

Resolve

Aftershock

After immobilizing an enemy champion gain defenses and later deal a burst of magic damage around you.

Font of Life

Impairing the movement of an enemy champion heals nearby allied champions.

Bone Plating

After taking damage from an enemy champion, the next 3 spells or attacks you receive from them deal 30-60 (based on level) less damage. Duration: 1.5s Cooldown: 55s

Unflinching

Gain Armor and Magic Resist when receiving crowd control.

Secondary

Inspiration

Biscuit Delivery

Gain a free Biscuit every 2 min, until 6 min. Consuming or selling a Biscuit permanently increases your max health and restores health.

Cosmic Insight

+18 Summoner Spell Haste+10 Item Haste

Shards

  • Adaptive Force
  • Move Speed
  • Health

Other keystones taken

  • First Strike14.2% taken · 46.3% win240 games
  • Grasp of the Undying10.9% taken · 43.5% win184 games
  • Stormraider's Surge2.0% taken · 50.0% win34 games

Tree pairs

  • Resolve + Inspiration57.1% taken · 50.0% win966 games
  • Resolve + Precision9.5% taken · 39.4% win160 games
  • Inspiration + Domination9.1% taken · 44.8% win154 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Maokai's most common path.

Q

Bramble Smash

Maokai knocks back nearby enemies with a shockwave, dealing magic damage and slowing them.

Cooldown 7/6.5/6/5.5/5s · 40 Mana
W

Twisted Advance

Maokai contorts into a mass of moving roots, becoming untargetable and dashing to the target.

Cooldown 14/13/12/11/10s · 60 Mana
E

Sapling Toss

Maokai flings a sapling to the target area to stand guard.

Cooldown 18/17/16/15/14s · 60/65/70/75/80 Mana
R

Nature's Grasp

Maokai summons a colossal wall of brambles and thorns that slowly advances forwards, damaging and rooting any enemies in the path.

Cooldown 130/110/90s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QWE

Max Q first, then W, then E. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QBramble SmashQQQQQ
WTwisted AdvanceWWWWW
ESapling TossEEEEE
RNature's GraspRRR

Matchup map (Support)

How Maokai performs against enemy support laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Maokai's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18
Mythic / CoreFirst major item
Core 2Second item
Core 3Third item
BootsBoot slot
SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

MaokaiSupport average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Maokai

  • Build percentage damage — flat penetration falls off against the stats it stacks

  • Track the roam — it is strongest where the enemy jungler already is

  • Punish the cooldown — Maokai is exposed while its rotation is down

  • Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one

  • Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 3/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

  • P

    Sap Magic

    Maokai's basic attack also heals him and deals additional damage on a moderate cooldown. Each time Maokai casts a spell or is struck by an enemy's spell, this cooldown is reduced.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Bramble Smash

    Maokai knocks back nearby enemies with a shockwave, dealing magic damage and slowing them.

    Cost 40 ManaCooldown 7/6.5/6/5.5/5sRange 600

  • W

    Twisted Advance

    Maokai contorts into a mass of moving roots, becoming untargetable and dashing to the target. Upon arrival, he roots the target.

    Cost 60 ManaCooldown 14/13/12/11/10sRange 525

  • E

    Sapling Toss

    Maokai flings a sapling to the target area to stand guard. More effective in brush.

    Cost 60/65/70/75/80 ManaCooldown 18/17/16/15/14sRange 1100

  • R

    Nature's Grasp

    Maokai summons a colossal wall of brambles and thorns that slowly advances forwards, damaging and rooting any enemies in the path.

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 130/110/90sRange 3000

Maokai balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Maokai in 3 patches. The latest is patch 26.15, published 2026-07-28.

  1. Patch 26.152026-07-28

    QBramble Smash

    • Monster Damage Modifier140 / 150 / 160 / 170 / 180to150 / 160 / 170 / 180 / 190
    • Ability Power Ratio40%to50%
    Why, in Riot's words

    Maokai has gradually faded out of both top and jungle play since our last major work on him. We think that ultimately his top laning experience is not the greatest for all parties involved, so for now we are mainly focused on buffing his jungle back up, where we think he has a fairly unique output as a zone controlling tank.

  2. Patch 26.42026-02-18

    QBramble Smash

    • Bonus Monster Damage120 / 130 / 140 / 150 / 160to140 / 150 / 160 / 170 / 180
    Why, in Riot's words

    Maokai was able to find much more comfortable roots in the Top and Support roles, but his ability to Jungle is still lagging behind other tanks. With this clear speed buff, we're looking to keep him in line with the other tree champions in the jungle.

  3. Patch 26.32026-02-03

    QBramble Smash

    • Flat Damage65 / 110 / 155 / 200 / 245to75 / 120 / 165 / 210 / 255
    Why, in Riot's words

    Maokai has been struggling to find his place both in the top lane and in the jungle. We want to give him a little bit of extra power to find relevance in our new season by boosting hist damage

Maokai skins (12)

Riot's data lists 12 looks for Maokai with their own art, the base skin included and 24 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateA
Win Rate
50.9%
▼ 0.4%
Pick Rate
8.5%
▲ 4.1%
Ban Rate
0.4%
▲ 1.1%
Damage dealt
93.2%
Damage taken
104.1%
Healing
90.7%
Shielding
102.6%
Ability Haste
+1

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.1947.2% over 462 games · small sample-0.3
  2. 26.1848.5% over 884 games · small sample0.0
  3. 26.1748.8% over 332 games · small sample—

Maokai's base stats against all 173 champions

  • Maokai's base attack speed of 0.8 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Maokai's base health of 665 is the 11th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 1 other).
StatMaokaiRankMedian
Base health665=11th620
Health per level109=38th104
Base armor35=31st30
Armor per level5.2=3rd4.6
Base magic resist32=32nd32
Magic resist per level2.05=4th1.55
Base attack damage64=29th59
Base attack speed0.81st0.656
Attack speed per level2.125%=105th2.5%
Move speed335=74th335
Attack range125=129th175

Maokai at level 1 and level 18

  • Maokai reaches 2518 health at level 18 — 665 at level 1 plus 17 × 109, the 27th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Maokai reaches 1106 mana at level 18 — 375 at level 1 plus 17 × 43, the 59th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
  • Maokai reaches 123.4 armor at level 18 — 35 at level 1 plus 17 × 5.2, the 8th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 3.
  • Maokai reaches 66.85 magic resist at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.05, the 5th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 69.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health665+109251827th of 173
Mana375+43110659th of 145
Armor35+5.2123.4=8th of 173
Magic resist32+2.0566.85=5th of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Maokai

Playing Maokai

  • Saplings can be tossed into brush for empowered effect - but don't stack well.
  • Try looking for flanks or other situations where Nature's Grasp is unavoidable or takes enemies by surprise.
  • Maokai's passive makes him extremely durable against focus fire from spells - so long as he can still basic attack something.

Playing against Maokai

  • Saplings will chase the first enemy that gets too close, but detonate after a few seconds or if they collide with other enemies. Be especially careful around brush sapling, as they are much more dangerous.
  • The cooldown on Maokai's self healing is heavily gated on how many time you hit him with spells. Careful about wasting abilities on him.
  • Maokai will avoid taking damage while he's using Twisted Advance, so don't waste your spells.

Quick answers about Maokai

How does Maokai do against Thresh?
Maokai won 43.1% of 58 counted Master+ games against Thresh. Thresh is one of the opponents that beat Maokai. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Maokai do against Lulu?
Maokai won 46.0% of 63 counted Master+ games against Lulu. Lulu is one of the opponents that beat Maokai. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Maokai do against Pyke?
Maokai won 53.5% of 43 counted Master+ games against Pyke. It is a matchup Maokai wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Maokai do against Leona?
Maokai won 51.2% of 43 counted Master+ games against Leona. It is close to even. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Maokai do against Bard?
Maokai won 48.6% of 70 counted Master+ games against Bard. It is close to even. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Maokai do against Rell?
Maokai won 50.7% of 75 counted Master+ games against Rell. It is close to even. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Maokai?
Riot classes Maokai as Tank and Support. This site files the champion under Support.
How hard is Maokai to play?
Riot rates Maokai's difficulty 3 out of 10.
What resource does Maokai use?
Maokai's abilities spend Mana.
What is Maokai's attack range?
125 units — the lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 44 others).
What are Maokai's abilities?
Passive — Sap Magic, Q — Bramble Smash, W — Twisted Advance, E — Sapling Toss and R — Nature's Grasp.
How many skins does Maokai have?
Riot's data lists 12 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 24 chroma variants.
How much health does Maokai have at level 18?
2518 — 665 at level 1 plus 17 × 109 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Maokai's ultimate cooldown?
Nature's Grasp (R): 130/110/90 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Maokai?
Patch 26.15, published 28 July 2026 — the latest of 3 patches that change Maokai in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Maokai at a glance

Maokai, the Twisted Treant, is a Tank and Support champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 3/10 for difficulty, 3/10 for attack, 8/10 for defense and 6/10 for magic. Maokai spends Mana and has 12 skins with their own art. Maokai's base attack speed of 0.8 is the highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20. Maokai's base health of 665 is the 11th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 1 other).

Attack3/10
Defense8/10
Magic6/10
Difficulty3/10

Maokai's story

Maokai is a rageful, towering treant who fights the unnatural horrors of the Shadow Isles. He was twisted into a force of vengeance after a magical cataclysm destroyed his home, surviving undeath only through the Waters of Life infused within his heartwood. Once a peaceful nature spirit, Maokai now furiously battles to banish the scourge of unlife from the Shadow Isles and restore his home to its former beauty.
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

Share cheat sheet

Methodology

Data window
Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters
The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample
None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause
An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Maokai on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 16 February 2011.

15 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.