How to win the jungle race as Naafiri against Maokai · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Naafiri's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Maokai.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Naafiri Favoured | Packmates plus the Darkin Daggers bleed win the level-1 numbers game. Sapling Toss bush-bombs poke contests for free, so this is an edge and not a blowout — take the level-1 crossing only with the HP and cooldown lead. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Naafiri Favoured | The Hounds' Pursuit dash trade chunks anyone contesting your second buff, but Twisted Advance root trades keep skirmishes on their schedule. You still win the straight exchange on the second camp; keep it short, keep it decisive, and keep the scuttle line yours. |
| Level 3 Route | Naafiri Favoured | The full pack with W dash and Q reset bleed is a real early kill threat. Maokai can make it awkward — Twisted Advance's untargetable root locks you down for the counter-trade — but not as the first scuttle timer lands. Trade, then walk away with the first scuttle and the gank window behind it. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Naafiri Favoured — Take Duels | You hold the edge at 4-5, not a blowout. He plays 4-5 through sapling vision and root ganks into lanes that already hold the wave, so meet them where the camps are, not where their laners are. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | The Call of the Pack Favoured | The Call of the Pack shields the dive while the hounds finish whoever you touch, while Nature's Grasp roots the whole river. You win the breakpoint against Maokai, not the whole game — cash it on the first objective after both sides hit six. |
| First Item Spike | Eclipse / Profane Hydra Spike | Completing your core item triggers a massive physical damage and shielding multiplier that completely overpowers traditional brawlers or assassin targets. Maokai's first item mostly buys health and cooldowns — his spike is durability, not damage, and it arrives early. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Respect Maokai Late — End Early | The full-build comparison goes to Maokai: he is a root wall with a health bar — hard to kill, and the whole river is his zone. Play for picks and objectives, and end before the fight has to be fair. |
Start your clear at the Red Buff camp to maximize early health retention via E dash heals before executing a fast 3-camp clear straight into an aggressive lane gank or invade path. Maokai clears comfortably with Sap Magic sustain and saplings, and he is close to full health at every crossing.
Ranked by the race windows in Naafiri's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Naafiri vs Maokai report continues with scuttle & dragon rules, invade windows and safety boundaries, the top-side objective fight, macro rotations and the win condition — plus the live enemy-jungle tracker that shows their start, clear and gank timers in game.
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Naafiri's race plan controls 6 of the 7 windows — Naafiri holds the tempo advantage in this jungle matchup.
Not exactly — Naafiri's race plan controls 6 of the 7 windows, so Maokai is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Playing the other side? Maokai vs Naafiri guide →
All Naafiri jungle matchups →
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