How to win lane as Maokai against Locke · 51.57% win rate over 382 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Maokai | Your Sap Magic heal and sapling poke beat his marks at level 1 — trade freely, the passive refunds it. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | Free sustain plus Q's knockback out-trade him at 2 — bump him off mid-pattern and heal the chip back. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | Your regen erases his grey-health trades through level 3 — everything he banks, you heal off before he can cash it. |
| Levels 4-5 | Maokai | Sustain and knockback keep the lane yours at 4-5 — he cannot build a lead through your passive. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Level 6 evens out — his Purgatory execute threat now offsets your heal and long-range R root, so respect all-ins at low HP. |
| First item | Even / skill | First item is even — his AP spike and missing-health on-hit finally trade level with your sustain. |
| Two+ items | Maokai | Late you are an unkillable rooting tank his burst cannot out-race — you win by simply not dying. |
This is your lane from minute one: Sap Magic healing and sapling poke out-trade his marks, and Q knockback breaks his trade pattern before it finishes. Trade willingly — your passive heals back whatever his chip banks — and use W's root to punish every farming auto he steps up to take.
The full Maokai vs Locke 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? Locke vs Maokai guide →
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