How to win lane as Maokai against Nautilus · 51.57% win rate (4,322 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
His hook fishes a forest — saplings light the brush and your W answers the catch.
Track: Nautilus's Q — Dredge Line (14–10s cooldown). His only real engage — dodge it and the lane is free.
Read from Maokai's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Nautilus.
This is Maokai's own plan; across 4,322 pooled games the lane is leaning Maokai.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 1 is a skill matchup — both are engage tanks feeling out the hook range. |
| Level 2 | Nautilus | At level 2 Nautilus's longer Q hook and passive chain out-engage your W. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Level 3 is even as it comes down to who lands their engage first. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Through 4-5 it stays even — bait-and-punish decides each trade. |
| Level 6 | Maokai | At level 6 your wide R out-ranges his single-target Depth Charge to peel or catch. |
| First item | Nautilus | First item favors Nautilus — tank stats make his chained CC nearly unkillable. |
| Two+ items | Maokai | By two-plus items your AoE R and Sapling zone give the better teamfight. |
This starts skill-matchup even at level 1, then Nautilus takes level 2: his Q Dredge Line hook is a longer-range engage than your W Twisted Advance, and his passive roots plus W shield let him win the two-man brawl if he lands the hook. Don't stand behind low minions where a Q can reach you, and hold your W to peel his engage rather than initiating into him. Track his hook cooldown (~14s early). Level one is even and level two is his, so use the first wave to seed ground and take value before his hook is online. After that, hold position, let the passive cover the chip, and engage only once his chain has already missed.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Maokai's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Maokai vs Nautilus 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 — a 51.57% win rate edge over 4,322 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Maokai has a small statistical edge (51.57% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Maokai has a slight edge (51.57% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Maokai takes Guardian on the Resolve tree with Font of Life, Bone Plating and Overgrowth, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Nautilus.
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? Nautilus vs Maokai guide →
All Maokai support matchups →
More Maokai support matchups: vs Milio · vs Morgana · vs Nami · vs Neeko · vs Poppy · vs Pyke
Also played in: Top Lane