How to win lane as Locke against Maokai · 48.43% win rate over 382 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Maokai | His passive heal and sapling poke beat your marks at level 1. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | Free sustain plus Bramble Smash knockback out-trade you at level 2. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | His regen erases your grey-health trades through level 3. |
| Levels 4-5 | Maokai | Sustain and knockback keep the lane his at 4-5. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Level 6 evens — your execute threat offsets his heal and long-range root. |
| First item | Even / skill | First item evens it — your AP spike and missing-HP on-hit trade level with his sustain. |
| Two+ items | Maokai | Late he's an unkillable rooting tank your burst can't out-race. |
Maokai wins the early lane through sheer sustain. His passive heals him every time he casts, Sapling Toss pokes you for nothing, and Bramble Smash knocks you out of Ritual Nails range whenever you try to trade. You simply can't out-poke a champ that regenerates for free — take safe CS, dodge saplings, and accept you're behind on the trade math.
The full Locke 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 Locke guide →
All Locke top lane matchups →