How to win lane as Neeko against Maokai · 30% win rate over 10 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Neither of us has a combo at 1 — last-hit at Q's edge and set up the lane; it's a coinflip neither wants to flip. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | Maokai's W root dash plus Q knockback let him walk you down the moment you step up — you have no escape but a down W. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | He out-trades you point-blank: his sustain and saplings eat your Q poke while his W locks your squishy body in place. |
| Levels 4-5 | Neeko | Your Q re-bloom waveclear out-shoves him and he can't punish your farm without committing W — your only lane breather. |
| Level 6 | Maokai | Pop Blossom should be your spike, but his W cancels the channel and saplings deny the unseen setup — he owns the 6 fight. |
| First item | Neeko | Lost Chapter / Liandry's components let you Q-shove and roam off his immobile body — your real value is away from him. |
| Two+ items | Neeko | In teamfights your AoE Pop Blossom deletes a clustered backline he can never threaten — just ult from fog so his W can't catch the channel. |
Level 1 is genuinely even — neither of us wants to commit, so just last-hit at the tip of Q and don't get greedy. The problem starts at 2: once Maokai has W (root dash) and Q (knockback) he can close on you any time you step up for a melee minion or to throw E, and your squishy body has no answer to a point-blank root. Don't walk into Q range to poke — chip with the far edge of Blooming Burst, hold E purely as a peel for his W dash, and accept that you're the one playing scared here.
The full Neeko 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 Neeko guide →
All Neeko top lane matchups →
Also played in: Support