Maokai

Maokai early lane is engage + soak. Start Doran's Shield + 2 pots. Grasp of the Undying keystone procs every 4s — auto-attack-trade pattern.

Freeze under tower vs lane bullies. Look for level 6 R engage windows with jungler. Build Bramble Vest vs healing top (Aatrox, Mundo, Warwick).

Sunfire Aegis + Plated Steelcaps is the standard spike. Frontline = your role. Engage objective fights with R + CC chain. Sunfire AoE + Grasp passive = AoE wave clear + sustain.

Frozen Heart 2nd item shreds enemy AS. Gargoyle Stoneplate 3rd-4th item for teamfight survival.

Frontline engager. Maokai starts every teamfight. R + CC chain on priority target — peel back for ADC + carry follow-up.

Adaptive Helm vs DoT comps (Brand, Karthus, Mordekaiser R). Anathema's Chains vs fed hyper-carry.

Soak damage → engage fights → 5-man → close. Maokai doesn't carry alone; team needs damage from ADC + mid.

Win: 2+ engages per game + 1+ Baron/Dragon secure from R. Lose to: split-push comps (Tryndamere, Jax) — can't catch them in sidelane.

Level 2 — second ability + full CC combo. Level 6 — R for guaranteed engage. Sunfire Aegis (1st item) — AoE wave clear + chip damage. Plated Steelcaps + Sunfire — armor + AoE spike. Level 11 — R rank 2 + 2-3 items. Gargoyle Stoneplate (4th item) — teamfight survival ability.

Combos:

• Engage ability -> R (CC chain) -> peel back to ADC
• Grasp procs every 4s — long-trade timing wins exchanges
• Build full tank — your damage comes from AoE passives, not items

Anti-tips:

• Don't engage 1v5 — wait for full team setup
• Don't blow Flash + R for non-priority target
• Don't 1v1 skirmishers — they out-duel tanks late

Pro tricks:

• TP to enemy side of fight = engage from unexpected angle
• Stand 500 in front of ADC pre-fight = engage tool ready
• Ward Baron/Dragon pit 60s before spawn — set up R engage