How to win lane as Nautilus against Maokai · 49.86% win rate over 2,136 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Nautilus | You win level 1 because your Q hook threatens a kill start while Maokai only has Sapling sustain. |
| Level 2 | Nautilus | You win level 2 first-to-spike because Q into W-auto-Riptide all-in beats his short-range W root. |
| Level 3 | Nautilus | You win level 3 as your P slow and burst combo out-trades his poke-and-sustain pattern. |
| Levels 4-5 | Nautilus | You stay ahead 4-5 keeping engage initiative that his reactive W root can't pre-empt. |
| Level 6 | Nautilus | At 6 your unstoppable Depth Charge beats his slow, telegraphed Nature's Grasp for the pick. |
| First item | Nautilus | On first item you remain the primary engage with a reliable hook he can't match. |
| Two+ items | Nautilus | Into 2+ items your guaranteed R catch on a carry dictates fights over his point-blank roots. |
You own levels 1-2: your Q is a hard point-and-click-adjacent hook that starts an all-in Maokai can only answer with a short-range W root, and your P slow makes the follow-up unmissable. His Sapling Toss (E) only gives sustain and waveclear, not kill pressure, so bully the ADC whenever your Q is up.
The full Nautilus 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 Nautilus guide →
All Nautilus support matchups →
Also played in: Top Lane