How to win lane as Maokai against Mordekaiser · 46.56% win rate (131 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Build MR — W-root him, out-sustain his realm.
Track: Mordekaiser's R — Realm of Death (140–100s cooldown). His 1v1 realm. Out-sustain him in it.
Read from Maokai's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Mordekaiser.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Neither of you has a combo yet — he has no Q isolation setup and you have no W-Q chain, so it's a clean farm stage decided by who mispositions into an E pull. |
| Level 2 | Mordekaiser | His Q already out-damages your single knockback if you step up, and his W shield eats the chip you do land — he edges the first real trade. |
| Level 3 | Mordekaiser | With Q-W-E online he slams you isolated and shields the return, out-trading the sustain pattern you normally win. |
| Levels 4-5 | Mordekaiser | His Q keeps catching you isolated and W (Indestructible) heals through your Sap Magic, so the attrition war tilts his way through Levels 4-5. |
| Level 6 | Mordekaiser | His R (Realm of Death) drags you into a 1v1 and steals your resistances and HP — the single scariest button in the lane and a flat kill threat on you. |
| First item | Mordekaiser | With AP and Magic Pen his Q-W sustain fully outpaces your non-scaling tank damage at first item. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Late game flattens out — you stop dueling and become the engage, your R brambles and W lockdown starting fights for your team while his single-target R only deletes one of you. |
Level 1 is genuinely even — he has no combo yet and neither do you, so just farm and don't let his E pull you into a bad spot. Once you both have abilities, his Q (isolated slam) is the problem: if you W-Advance onto him with no minions around, you eat the full isolated-target bonus while your one Q knockback barely answers it. Only trade when the wave is stacked next to him so his Q drops to its weak hit, proc Sap Magic on the way out, and respect that his W shields whatever you chip.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Maokai's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Maokai vs Mordekaiser 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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Mordekaiser, slightly — Maokai wins 46.56% of 131 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Mordekaiser has a small statistical edge (53.44% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Mordekaiser has the slight edge (Maokai wins 46.56%), though it stays close.
Maokai takes Grasp of the Undying on the Resolve tree with Demolish, Second Wind and Overgrowth, and Precision secondary (Triumph and Legend: Haste) vs Mordekaiser.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Executioner's Calling (≈800g) — cuts his healing. Build Heartsteel (the HP engine) first, then Thornmail / Spirit Visage, with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Mordekaiser vs Maokai guide →
All Maokai top lane matchups →
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