How to win lane as Karma against Maokai · 50.62% win rate over 1,288 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| 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.
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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Playing the other side? Maokai vs Karma guide →
All Karma support matchups →
Also played in: Top Lane