How to win lane as Maokai against Morgana · 48.97% win rate (1,746 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
The black shield eats your point-and-click thesis — pop it with saplings or Q before any real root.
Track: Morgana's Q — Dark Binding (10s cooldown). The three-second root — minion-block it; the pool follows wherever it lands.
Read from Maokai's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Morgana.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Morgana | Morgana wins level 1 — her Q root out-ranges and punishes any straight-line approach. |
| Level 2 | Morgana | At level 2 a landed Dark Binding stops your W all-in cold before you deal damage. |
| Level 3 | Morgana | Level 3 favors her as Black Shield begins negating your engage CC entirely. |
| Levels 4-5 | Morgana | Through 4-5 her Q and shield uptime keep every trade in her favor. |
| Level 6 | Morgana | At level 6 her R plus Black Shield stonewalls your ult and all-in. |
| First item | Morgana | First item's CDR shortens her Q and shield timers, deepening her control. |
| Two+ items | Morgana | By two-plus items Zhonya's and perma-shield fully negate your single engage. |
Morgana wins the whole lane, starting at level 1: her Q Dark Binding out-ranges and out-durations your engage, and if she catches your W dash-in you eat a full root plus her W Tormented Shadow ground. Never walk up in a straight line — she only needs one Q to delete your commit. Respect the 1300-range binding and stay behind your minions. Her binding out-ranges your approach and her shield cancels your root outright, so the lane is about patience rather than pressure. Seed the ground between you, keep a minion in the path of her cast, and engage only once both the binding and the shield are gone.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Maokai's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Maokai vs Morgana 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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Morgana, slightly — Maokai wins 48.97% of 1,746 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Morgana has a small statistical edge (51.03% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Morgana has the slight edge (Maokai wins 48.97%), though it stays close.
Maokai takes Guardian on the Resolve tree with Font of Life, Bone Plating and Overgrowth, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Morgana.
Start World Atlas + potions and back for Boots + wards (≈700g). Build Locket / Zeke's first, then Knight's Vow path, with Mercury's.
Playing the other side? Morgana vs Maokai guide →
All Maokai support matchups →
More Maokai support matchups: vs Lulu · vs Lux · vs Milio · vs Nami · vs Nautilus · vs Neeko