How to win lane as Mordekaiser against Maokai · 53.44% win rate (131 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Dodge his W root — R him and out-sustain his low damage.
Track: Maokai's W — Twisted Advance (14–10s cooldown). His lock-on root. Dodge it.
Read from Mordekaiser's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Maokai.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | You have only the Q sweetspot and no aura yet, and he has only Sapling Toss — neither can all-in, so trade last-hits and bank Indestructible shield value. |
| Level 2 | Mordekaiser | Q and W come online: a single-target Obliterate plus a banked Indestructible shield beat his sapling chip while his small mana pool runs dry. |
| Level 3 | Mordekaiser | With Q-W-E you out-trade him — Death's Grasp pulls him in, the Q sweetspot lands, and Darkness Rise grinds a target who can't dash out. |
| Levels 4-5 | Mordekaiser | Darkness Rise plus your Indestructible heal out-pace his passive sustain in the extended fight; his root-W is for ganks, not for winning the 1v1. |
| Level 6 | Mordekaiser | Realm of Death is your guaranteed window — his root and knockback are worthless with no ally to peel for, and you keep his stats on the kill. |
| First item | Mordekaiser | Your Liandry's Torment plus Sorcerer's Shoes make the W-shielded all-in lethal; his passive heal can't keep up with your aura plus Indestructible recast. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | He's a tank, not a scaler, so it stalls to even — but his teamfight CC starts to matter, so isolate him with R instead of grouping into his sapling zones blind. |
"\"Maokai chips you with Sapling Toss (E) and his passive heal lets him sit in the wave, but his mana pool is tiny and his damage can't out-grind your Indestructible sustain. At level 1 just farm — Darkness Rise isn't online yet and you have no E-pull. From 2-3, bank a W shield off his sapling poke, then step in with the single-target Q sweetspot to start Darkness Rise stacks. Respect his W: Twisted Advance is his only engage, so don't walk into root range with his jungler nearby.\""
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Mordekaiser's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Mordekaiser vs Maokai 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.
Read the full guide — plans from $1.99/month →🔒 Secure checkout · 💰 7-day money-back guarantee on your first payment · ✋ Cancel anytime
Lane Pass $1.99/mo · All Lanes $3.99/mo · Annual $24.99/yr. Renews automatically — cancel anytime.
Mordekaiser, slightly — a 53.44% win rate edge over 131 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Mordekaiser has a small statistical edge (53.44% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Mordekaiser has a slight edge (53.44% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Mordekaiser takes Conqueror on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Haste and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Bone Plating and Overgrowth) vs Maokai.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Haunting Guise / Giant's Belt (≈900-1300g). Build Liandry's Torment (burn carries his extended trades) first, then Riftmaker (omnivamp turns the Realm 1v1 unloseable), with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Maokai vs Mordekaiser guide →
All Mordekaiser top lane matchups →
More Mordekaiser top lane matchups: vs Locke · vs Lucian · vs Malphite · vs Master Yi · vs Mel · vs Nasus