How to win lane as Maokai against Yone · 50% win rate over 172 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Yone | He has a working Q-poke and W-cleave at level 1 while you have a single ability and no combo, so he owns the opener. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | Completing W+Q lets you Twisted-Advance him mid-step and root-Smash before his E-Rewind matters — you bully him here. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | Your root-and-poke trade plus Sap Magic healing out-grinds his W second-hit chunk through levels 2-3. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Even stretch: you keep landing W-Q but he can E (Spirit Rewind) out of your root, so neither side runs the other down. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | His R knockup out-spikes your slow Nature's Grasp wall — he can E-cancel your ult, so the level keeps balanced at best. |
| First item | Even / skill | Bami plus Sap Magic makes you lane-stable and even against a pre-crit Yone if you root before he stacks W. |
| Two+ items | Yone | Two-item crit Yone with E-flip and R knockup kites your single root and out-DPSes your flat damage — he out-scales you hard. |
Level 1 belongs to him — you have one ability and no combo while his Q poke and W cleave already work, so just last-hit and don't get clipped. The lane flips at 2-3: the moment you complete W-Q you can Twisted-Advance onto him as he dashes in, root him, and Bramble-Smash him back before his E (Spirit Rewind) is a factor — Sap Magic heals whatever his W second-hit chunks. Drop a Sapling on the wave so he can't free-farm with W spirit-cleave.
The full Maokai vs Yone 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? Yone vs Maokai guide →
All Maokai top lane matchups →