How to win lane as Maokai against Kassadin · 50.63% win rate over 79 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Maokai | He's a no-combo melee at level 1 and so are you, but your single point and Sap Magic set up sustain he can't match — deny his last-hits. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | Your W (Twisted Advance) roots a blinkless Kassadin and Q-knock plus a Sap Magic proc wins the trade outright. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Trades stay yours but his Q (Null Sphere) shield starts absorbing enough that it tightens to a skill matchup on his silence timing. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Your W cooldown lets you repeat roots, but a careful Kassadin farms safe behind Q and the lane sits even until 6. |
| Level 6 | Kassadin | Riftwalk lands — he can finally blink out of your W root and your free-kill window is gone. |
| First item | Kassadin | Tear and his Q shield mean Sap-Magic poke stops chunking him; his first-item scaling overtakes your flat damage. |
| Two+ items | Kassadin | Stacked Riftwalks burst you and blink through your R wall — you out-scale nothing here, so swap to peeling and zoning for your team. |
Pre-6 Kassadin is a melee with no escape, and that is your whole opening. Walk up, land W (Twisted Advance) to root him in place, Q-knock him and let Sap Magic heal the trade back — he literally cannot leave until his ult. His Q (Null Sphere) silence is the only thing that stings, so bait it on your minions or eat it for the root, not when you're committing your combo. Dodge nothing fancy here; just punish every step he takes to farm.
The full Maokai vs Kassadin 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? Kassadin vs Maokai guide →
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