How to win lane as Kassadin against Maokai · 69.23% win rate over 13 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Maokai | Once Maokai has W (Twisted Advance) at level 2 it's a point-and-click dash-root — you have only Null Sphere and no escape, so he wins any all-in he commits to in the level 1-2 window. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | He spikes hardest around 2-3 with W into Q-knockback and an E sapling on top; your mana-hungry Null Sphere can't trade back and you have no dash to disengage the lock. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | By 3 it's a wash — your shield can soak a sapling proc and you can hold CS, but his Sap Magic sustain means you still can't punish him. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Levels 4-5 trade evenly: Nether Blade's mana refund lets you farm under tower and weather his poke, but it isn't a fight window for you yet. |
| Level 6 | Kassadin | Level 6 Riftwalk lets you blink out of his W root the instant it drops and leave his sapling-set ganks — you flip from helpless to in control. |
| First item | Kassadin | With Rod of Ages online and Nether Blade refunding mana, you out-sustain his chip and start ignoring his lane entirely. |
| Two+ items | Kassadin | At 2+ items, stacked Riftwalk recasts plus your innate 15% magic reduction make you uncatchable, and unlike a scaler Maokai has no late game to reclaim. |
Maokai owns the early window and it is the only real danger here. Once he hits 2 he has W (Twisted Advance), a point-and-click dash-root: over-extend for a cannon and he locks you, Q-knockbacks, and drops an E sapling on top while you have nothing but Null Sphere and no dash to leave. Don't trade autos near his saplings — last-hit at max range and eat the chip. Null Sphere's shield can soak one sapling proc if you're forced to take it, but mana is precious pre-RoA, so spend it on safety, not poke you can't follow up on. Watch for a flash-W all-in.
The full Kassadin 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 Kassadin guide →
All Kassadin top lane matchups →