How to win lane as Mordekaiser against Maokai · 52.68% win rate over 131 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| 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 magic-damage mythic 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.\""
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.
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Playing the other side? Maokai vs Mordekaiser guide →
All Mordekaiser top lane matchups →