How to win lane as Karma against Maokai · 48.59% win rate (2,587 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
His engage meets a tether and a shield-sprint — root the chain and chip the armor that funded it.
Track: Maokai's W — Twisted Advance (14–10s cooldown). Point-and-click root — count its cooldown before stepping up.
Read from Karma's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Maokai.
This is Karma's own plan; across 2,587 pooled games the lane is leaning Maokai.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | At level 1 Maokai has no poke, so your Q and passive win the trade. |
| Level 2 | Karma | At level 2 your Q-E combo out-ranges his melee-only kit. |
| Level 3 | Karma | Through level 3 you poke him freely whenever he can't reach you. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karma | At levels 4-5 your root and shields punish every W Twisted Advance. |
| Level 6 | Maokai | At 6 Maokai's R-W root-chain can burst your ADC through one shield, so he spikes. |
| First item | Karma | On first item your poke and shields reassert control between his cooldowns. |
| Two+ items | Karma | With 2+ items your Mantra-E overshield, RE speed and haste out-utility his lone engage. |
You dominate levels 1-4: Maokai brings no ranged poke, so he has to W Twisted Advance into your face to do anything, and every time he does you poke him with Q and hold W root to punish the dive. He has no ranged poke at all and has to walk into your face to do anything, so chip him on every approach. Free chip on an approaching melee is free Mantra uptime. Shield your carry the moment his root lands, and push the wave while he is stuck waiting for it.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Karma's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Karma 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, slightly — Karma wins 48.59% of 2,587 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Maokai has a small statistical edge (51.41% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Maokai has the slight edge (Karma wins 48.59%), though it stays close.
Karma takes Summon Aery on the Sorcery tree with Manaflow Band, Transcendence and Scorch, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Maokai.
Start World Atlas + potions and back for Oblivion Orb piece vs sustain duos. Build Imperial Mandate / Helia first, then Redemption path, with Mercury's / Swiftness.
Playing the other side? Maokai vs Karma guide →
All Karma support matchups →
More Karma support matchups: vs Leona · vs Lulu · vs Lux · vs Milio · vs Morgana · vs Nami
Also played in: Top Lane