How to win lane as Bard against Maokai · 44.16% win rate (2,806 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
His engage is a line and your Q draws walls — stun the chain against the lane's furniture.
Track: Maokai's W — Twisted Advance (14–10s cooldown). Point-and-click root — count its cooldown before stepping up.
Read from Bard's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Maokai.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 1 is even since Maokai has no engage before W. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | At 2 your charged Q can stun-cancel his slow W dash, keeping it even. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | Level 3 his W root reliably sets up dives you can't trade back into. |
| Levels 4-5 | Maokai | Through levels 4-5 his engage keeps out-pressuring your poke kit. |
| Level 6 | Maokai | At 6 Nature's Grasp chains into W and out-CCs your single Tempered Fate. |
| First item | Even / skill | First item is even as your poke scales while his damage plateaus. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | With 2+ items your global R and picks match his engage in teamfights. |
The first two levels are even: Maokai has no engage until W and his W is a dodgeable slow projectile, so a charged Q lets you stun him out of his own dash before he roots you. Poke his ADC with Meeps since Maokai's sustain-tank kit can't answer ranged chip, and don't facecheck brush where he can W you cleanly. His engage is a dodgeable projectile, so hold your ground and answer it with a charged binding into the side wall. Shrines cover the sapling chip. Take chimes on your own half of the river while the wave is safe, and keep the portal for your ADC's exit rather than your own roam.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Bard's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Bard vs Maokai report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Maokai — Bard wins only 44.16% of 2,806 games, so Bard plays this as the disadvantaged side.
Not really — Maokai holds a real statistical advantage (55.84% win rate), so Bard is the one working uphill.
No — Maokai counters Bard (Bard wins only 44.16% of games). Play it as the disadvantaged side and lean on the windows in the plan.
Bard takes Guardian on the Resolve tree with Font of Life, Bone Plating and Unflinching, and Inspiration secondary (Magical Footwear and Cosmic Insight) vs Maokai.
Start World Atlas + potions and back for Oblivion Orb piece vs sustain. Build Locket / Zeke's first, then Knight's Vow / Redemption, with Mercury's.
Playing the other side? Maokai vs Bard guide →
All Bard support matchups →
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