How to win lane as Cho'Gath against Maokai · 47.62% win rate over 189 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Two of the weakest tank level-1s — start Q, deny his last-hits, and set up the lane since neither of you threatens a kill yet. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | His saplings and Bramble Smash knockback chip you while you're slow and reliant on landing one delayed Rupture to trade back. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | You're short-ranged and skillshot-dependent here — he farms safely behind sapling poke and concedes you nothing. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Carnivore sustain, Vorpal Spikes waveclear, and your Rupture-into-Feral-Scream combo stabilize you into an even farm war against another immobile tank. |
| Level 6 | Cho'Gath | Feast's true damage ignores his armor and MR entirely — your one real kill threat and the stage you own outright. |
| First item | Even / skill | Both go full tank and the duel flattens — sapling poke vs Rupture knock-up, neither converts, so the cell is genuinely even. |
| Two+ items | Maokai | Twisted Advance is a targeted root-dash engage and his brush saplings control fights — his root utility out-values your single-target Feast in 5v5s. |
Two immobile tanks, but Maokai edges the opening because his saplings and Bramble Smash (Q) knockback let him chip you for free while you wait out a slow, telegraphed Rupture. Don't throw Q into auto range hoping to start a trade — he just saplings you back and the Carnivore-vs-Sap-Magic sustain race stays even. Last-hit with the tip of Q, eat the poke, and remember neither of you can actually kill here, so losing a little HP is fine.
The full Cho'Gath 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 Cho'Gath guide →
All Cho'Gath top lane matchups →