How to win lane as Nautilus against Maokai · 50% win rate over 12 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 1 is even — no all-in for either tank yet, though my passive root tilts a raw auto-trade slightly my way. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | His saplings and passive sustain heal through my W splash burn, so even with my shield up I cannot chunk him. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | My Q-pull-root-E combo is real, but his W root-dash peels the engage and his saplings out-trade me in the splash. |
| Levels 4-5 | Maokai | His sapling sustain scales with my W and E, so the wave control and short-trade edge stays on his side through 4-5. |
| Level 6 | Maokai | Even my undodgeable Depth Charge only trades evenly into his R sapling-burst and W root — he survives the lockdown. |
| First item | Maokai | His first-item tank spike plus relentless sapling poke means I still cannot break him in a solo duel. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Two tanks with no kill damage stalemate the lane — it resolves on my R picks and roams, not the 1v1. |
Level 1 is genuinely even — neither of us has a kill button, but my passive root makes a stray auto-trade lean my way, so contest the first auto if he steps up. The problem starts the moment his saplings come online: they sit in my W splash zone and his passive plus sustain heals back the burn I land, so I never actually chunk him. Land Q on HIM, not a sapling, or the pull whiffs and I'm stuck on cooldown with no mobility.
The full Nautilus 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 Nautilus guide →
All Nautilus top lane matchups →
Also played in: Support