How to win lane as Maokai against Gnar · 51.09% win rate (276 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Root him out of mini-form kiting and punish the transform window — your sustain simply out-lasts his poke.
Track: Gnar's R — GNAR! (90–30s cooldown). His Mega all-in. W-peel/dodge it.
Read from Maokai's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Gnar.
This is Maokai's own plan; across 276 pooled games the lane is leaning Maokai.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gnar | Gnar's boomerang (Q) outranges everything you have and at Level 1 you own only one ability with no combo to answer it. |
| Level 2 | Gnar | He throws Boomerang Throw from 1100 and resets distance with Hop, and one point in W (Twisted Advance) will not let me repeat a trade. |
| Level 3 | Gnar | His mini-form kite range still beats your step-up; you have W+Q now but he resets the trade distance before you can commit. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Even — your W-root into Q with Sap Magic healing finally matches his poke, but he can still hop away between your cooldowns. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Even — your R adds gank threat, but his Mega-Gnar transform brings an AOE stun (W) and Wallop that can cancel your W all-in outright. |
| First item | Maokai | Your Sunfire Aegis durability plus repeated Sap Magic heals win the attrition war once you're tanky and can survive his poke. |
| Two+ items | Maokai | You out-grind him in the prolonged fight — your root chains and healing beat his mini-form kiting before his boomerang scaling matters. |
Gnar owns the first three levels and you have to respect it. Boomerang Throw reaches 1100 against your 525 W (Twisted Advance), so he chips you for free — and at Level 1 you have one ability and no combo. Don't walk into Q range for melee last-hits; eat the CS loss and wait. Your one real opening arrives at Levels 2-3 with W+Q+E online. His Hop is only 475, though, so a Gnar who hops at you is inside your W range: root him, Q-knockback, and proc Sap Magic on the follow-up attack, which his own spell hits have already sped up. Never W in while his Rage bar is near full.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Maokai's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Maokai vs Gnar 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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Maokai, slightly — a 51.09% win rate edge over 276 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Maokai has a small statistical edge (51.09% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Maokai has a slight edge (51.09% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Maokai takes Grasp of the Undying on the Resolve tree with Demolish, Second Wind and Overgrowth, and Precision secondary (Triumph and Legend: Haste) vs Gnar.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Core component + boots (≈1300g). Build Heartsteel (the HP engine) first, then Thornmail / Spirit Visage, with Plated Steelcaps.
Playing the other side? Gnar vs Maokai guide →
All Maokai top lane matchups →
More Maokai top lane matchups: vs Galio · vs Gangplank · vs Garen · vs Gragas · vs Graves · vs Gwen