How to win lane as Karma against Maokai · 38.46% win rate over 13 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | At Level 1 Mantra is already up — open RQ Soulflare for a free chunk before his passive sustain and saplings can heal it back. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Even trade at 2: your Q out-ranges him but he has no W dash yet, so neither of you can force — last-hit and don't overstay. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | Once he hits 3 and has W he dashes and roots you, and his Q knockback plus passive heal flip any trade in his favour. |
| Levels 4-5 | Maokai | His passive sustain and sapling damage heal through your Q/RQ chip, so you can't shove him off the wave like other immobile targets. |
| Level 6 | Maokai | Your Mantra is no power spike at 6 while his W-dash root sets up a kill or a tower dive — this is the level he closes the gap. |
| First item | Even / skill | Your first AP/haste item sharpens RQ but his tank items and passive heal blunt it — it's a wash, the best you do is trade tempo. |
| Two+ items | Maokai | He scales into an unkillable frontline whose W-root locks you down — your chip means nothing and your thin frame dies to one lockdown. |
Your only clean window is Level 1: open with RQ Soulflare for a real chunk before Maokai's passive sustain and saplings are online to heal it back. After that, respect his W — the moment he has it at 3 he can dash to you and root you in place, and your Q poke just feeds his passive heal. Hold Inspire (E) for that dash-root, not for a casual trade, because if your shield is down when his W lands he chains Q knockback and you have no escape.
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 top lane matchups →
Also played in: Support