Maokai Pro Builds - How to Play Maokai in Season 14
Maokai – the Twisted Treant – is a great Tank that is usually played on position Support. Maokai can also be played in other roles, but we focus on position Support in this LoL Maokai guide as it fits the current meta in S14 very well.
Maokai has a win rate of 56% and pick rate of 0.2%. There is a ban rate of 4%. Although a great champion, winning with Maokai is not a given. You need to have the right Maokai build in order to unleash the full potential on patch 14.9. There are many Maokai probuilds out there. We help you to find the right probuild, Maokai players need to win.
Latest Maokai probuilds
Here a quick view on the latest Maokai probuilds on position Support.
How to play Maokai
We will show you what you need to do, to increase your chances of winning your lane. Maokai is strong, but if you ran into 
Janna or 
Alistar you might get in trouble. In order to win your lane and against your counter, you need the right spells, items and runes. The following Maokai Support pro build will help you with that.
Follow our build, pentakills will follow and you will learn how to play Maokai. Since Riot Games regularly releases a new patch, Maokai builds may change from time to time. It is important to keep up to date.
Items for Maokai
Items obviously play a big role in League of Legends. Buying the right item can make the difference between winning and losing as Maokai. The order of items is also very important. Especially in early game, it is imperative to make the right decision on what to buy. You need to know the right starter item and starter trinket. But you also need to know what your final items will be. Your opponent like 
Xerath or 
Brand can also influence your buying decisions.
Since Maokai is a powerful Tank you should start with 
Health Potion, Health Potion, and 
World Atlas. Your starter trinket should be 
Stealth Ward. You will find those in the shop under: Tools > Vision & Trinkets. Your optimal final boots are 
Boots of Swiftness. So make sure to buy accordingly. A good buy order for your items is:
Knight's Vow
Locket of the Iron Solari
Randuin's Omen
Maokai abilities and summoner spells
Pro Gamers in LoL also gain advantage by their choice of spells and the order they use their abilities on Maokai. You also shouldn’t leave this to chance.
During champion select you have the possibility to choose two spells for Maokai. The choice of summoner spells can’t be underestimated. They can play a big role in team-fights. Countless team-fights have been decided by a well-used flash. Statistics have proven that the best choice is 
Flash and 
Ignite.
You can also gain an advantage in early game by using Maokai abilities in a certain order. Each phase of the game differs. Some abilities might be good in late game, but less in early game. Start the game with 
Bramble Smash. Then you should continue with 
Twisted Advance, followed by 
Sapling Toss. An order for abilities of Maokai up to level 10:
| Level | Key | Champion Spell |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | R | Bramble Smash |
| 2 | R | Twisted Advance |
| 3 | R | Sapling Toss |
| 4 | R | Bramble Smash |
| 5 | R | Bramble Smash |
| 6 | R |  Nature's Grasp |
| 7 | R | Bramble Smash |
| 8 | R | Sapling Toss |
| 9 | R | Sapling Toss |
| 10 | R | Sapling Toss |
Most effective Maokai runes selection
For an effective Maokai build, you also need to select the appropriate runes. Ideally, you make an extra rune page for Maokai. You have to choose a primary and a secondary path from five rune paths for the Twisted Treant: Precision, Domination, Sorcery, Resolve and Inspiration.
In the primary path you can choose a keystone rune and three lesser runes. The secondary path only consists of two lesser runes. There are also the three so-called shard slots. The best rune paths for Maokai are for primary 
Resolve and for secondary 
Inspiration. As the keystone rune on Maokai most pros pick 
Aftershock.
For your primary path – Resolve – choose these runes on Maokai:
- Aftershock
Font of Life
Unflinching
Bone Plating
For your secondary path – Inspiration – choose these runes on Maokai:
Cosmic Insight
Hextech Flashtraption
Champions that counter Maokai
As mentioned before, it is always necessary to react to opponents of Maokai. There are champions that counter Maokai. These champions have advantages that can be dangerous for you. Janna for instance is strong against Maokai and has a win rate of 54%. Another dangerous counter is Alistar.
When your opponent counter picks Maokai in champion select, you need to be aware. In this case, adjust your items and game to the situation.
DRX Maokai is one of the 11 available skins for Maokai.
Conclusion
Many people are looking for Maokai pro builds, that players often used to win. By following our probuilds, you can turn Maokai into a beast. Especially if you also follow our Maokai guide. When you have your runes placed like we told you, Maokai will reach its full potential. Buying the items we listed will also increase your chances. Start with the abilities in the correct order to gain an advantage in early game.
When you build Maokai in League of Legends correctly, you will have a very capable champion. But as always you need to practice, especially when and how to use Nature's Grasp. League of Legends is a dynamic game that changes with every patch. Keep following the patch notes and keep adjusting your LoL Maokai build.
Also, keep reacting to the game itself. Do you play mid, top or bot? Who is support or jungle? Overall, a good game is the sum of the right decisions. Over time, you your skills with Maokai will grow. Once you mastered Maokai – the Twisted Treant – you will rule the rift.
