- Win Rate
- 51.1%
- Pick Rate
- 1.2%
- Ban Rate
- 0.3%
Maokai Support Counters & Lane Matchups
- Patch
- 26.20
- Games
- 2,471
- Lane
- Support
- Tier
- All Tiers
- Last Updated
- Oct 21, 2026 UTC
- Methodology
- Data Methodology
- Author
- Dakota Chinnick
Every Support lane opponent Maokai faced in Patch 26.20, ranked: Nautilus (52.4% win rate against Maokai) and Milio (54.9%) are the hardest. See gold, CS and XP at 15 for all 25 matchups, find the best counter from your own champion pool, and learn how to play against Maokai.
- Hardest counter
- Nautiluswins 52.4%
- Next hardest
- Miliowins 54.9%
- Biggest lane bully
- Vel'Koz+672 gold at 15
- Easiest matchup
- Threshyou win 59.8%
- Support lanes won at 15
- 49.4%
Who Counters Maokai Support (Patch 26.20)
25 lane opponents · 1,857 gamesThe hardest Support matchups for Maokai are Nautilus (52.4% win rate against Maokai), Milio (54.9%) and Leona (51.4%). Vel'Koz is the biggest lane bully, finishing 15 minutes 672 gold ahead of Maokai on average. Across the 25 matchups with lane data, Maokai is clearly ahead in gold at 15 against 5 and clearly behind against 8. The easiest lane is Thresh: Maokai wins 59.8%.
| Opponent | Their win rate | Gold @15 | CS @15 | XP @15 | Verdict | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alistar | 73.3% | −93 | −1.4 | −7 | Counter | 30 |
 Nautilus | 52.4% | −24 | −1.4 | −3 | Leans their way | 126 |
 Milio | 54.9% | −152 | −3.3 | +196 | Leans their wayLoses lane | 71 |
 Soraka | 56.6% | −268 | −5.2 | +96 | Leans their wayLoses lane | 53 |
 Leona | 51.4% | −40 | −0.2 | +61 | Even | 111 |
 Blitzcrank | 51.5% | −45 | −1.7 | +153 | Even | 99 |
 Seraphine | 48.5% | +195 | −1.7 | +72 | Wins lane | 136 |
 Senna | 52.9% | +134 | −0.7 | +1 | Leans their way | 51 |
 Lulu | 50.7% | −107 | −2.9 | +241 | Even | 69 |
 Karma | 51.7% | +115 | +1.5 | +218 | Even | 58 |
 Lux | 45.8% | +221 | +3.7 | +178 | Leans your wayWins lane | 177 |
 Rakan | 50.0% | −251 | −0.9 | +56 | Loses lane | 60 |
 Morgana | 47.6% | +377 | −1.3 | +139 | Leans your wayWins lane | 84 |
 Pyke | 46.6% | +300 | −3.9 | −32 | Leans your wayWins lane | 103 |
 Brand | 51.1% | +285 | +1.4 | +255 | Wins lane | 47 |
 Pantheon | 47.1% | +413 | +1.7 | +70 | Leans your wayWins lane | 70 |
 Nami | 46.6% | −215 | −3.6 | +49 | Leans your wayLoses lane | 73 |
 Swain | 45.8% | +417 | +4.8 | +388 | Leans your wayWins lane | 59 |
 Janna | 50.0% | +68 | −4.2 | +182 | Even | 32 |
 Rell | 48.6% | −274 | −2.6 | −169 | Even | 37 |
 Thresh | 40.2% | −14 | +1.5 | +60 | Favorable | 127 |
 Zyra | 47.1% | +58 | +1.9 | +21 | Leans your way | 34 |
 Vel'Koz | 44.2% | +672 | +5.4 | +598 | Leans your wayWins lane | 43 |
 Tahm Kench | 42.9% | +105 | +1.8 | +203 | Leans your way | 49 |
 Braum | 41.4% | −383 | −1.7 | −330 | Leans your wayLoses lane | 58 |
Ranked solo and flex games where both champions played the same lane this patch. Win rate shown is the OPPONENT's. Lists rank by the 95% range of each win rate, so a handful of games cannot top the list; gold, CS and XP are the opponent's lead at 15:00.
Maokai Counter Pick Finder
Find your counter
Pick the champions you play to rank them against Maokai. With nothing picked, the strongest counters overall are shown.
| Pick | Win rate vs Maokai | Gold @15 | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Alistar | 73.3% | −93 | 30 |
| 2. Nautilus | 52.4% | −24 | 126 |
| 3. Milio | 54.9% | −152 | 71 |
| 4. Soraka | 56.6% | −268 | 53 |
| 5. Leona | 51.4% | −40 | 111 |
Maokai Lane Gold at 15 Minutes
Maokai's gold lead or deficit at 15:00 against the twelve most common Support opponents. Right of the line, Maokai is ahead; left, the opponent is.
From a champion selection perspective, the strongest Maokai counters are Nautilus, Milio, Leona, and Blitzcrank. These champions either out-trade Maokai in lane, have abilities that negate Maokai's core mechanics, or scale better into team fights. Nautilus in particular exploits Maokai's weaknesses by providing consistent pressure while being difficult to punish.
Beyond item builds and counter picks, successful counter play against Maokai involves understanding Maokai's power spikes and cooldown windows. Engage on Maokai when key abilities are on cooldown, and coordinate with your team to focus Maokai in team fights before Maokai can output maximum damage. Vision control is also crucial when playing against Maokai to avoid getting caught out of position. By combining proper defensive itemization with smart champion selection and strategic gameplay, you can effectively neutralize Maokai's impact and secure victory.
When to Counter Maokai - Game Phase Strategy
Maokai may look for extended trades. Avoid long fights and kite with slows. Short trades favor you against sustained damage.
Maokai becomes increasingly tanky mid game. Focus on kiting and percent health damage. Avoid fighting in choke points.
Maokai is very durable late game. Use armor penetration or anti-tank items. Focus squishier targets first if Maokai is too tanky.
Tips for Playing Against Maokai
- Pick Nautilus or similar champions with kits that exploit Maokai's weaknesses
- Build Mercury's Treads or Hexdrinker early to reduce Maokai's damage in lane
- Track Maokai's cooldowns and engage when key abilities are unavailable
- Ward Maokai's common roam paths and ping missing immediately
- Coordinate with your jungler to gank Maokai during vulnerable windows
- Avoid extended trades where Maokai can stack sustained damage
- Kite Maokai with slows and crowd control
Riot's tips for playing against Maokai
- Saplings will chase the first enemy that gets too close, but detonate after a few seconds or if they collide with other enemies. Be especially careful around brush sapling, as they are much more dange
- The cooldown on Maokai's self healing is heavily gated on how many time you hit him with spells. Careful about wasting abilities on him.
- Maokai will avoid taking damage while he's using Twisted Advance, so don't waste your spells.
Plan your Maokai draft in Draft Lab
Draft Lab lays out both teams lane by lane with live matchup win rates, damage profiles and game-phase lean, and suggests picks and bans from current meta data.
- Full 5v5 draft board
- Lane matchup win rates
- Pick and ban suggestions
What Maokai Is Good Against
The Support opponents Maokai beats most reliably this patch — the picks to look for when Maokai is your champion.
| Opponent | Their win rate | Gold @15 | CS @15 | XP @15 | Verdict | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thresh | 40.2% | −14 | +1.5 | +60 | Favorable | 127 |
| Lux | 45.8% | +221 | +3.7 | +178 | Leans your wayWins lane | 177 |
| Pyke | 46.6% | +300 | −3.9 | −32 | Leans your wayWins lane | 103 |
| Seraphine | 48.5% | +195 | −1.7 | +72 | Wins lane | 136 |
| Nami | 46.6% | −215 | −3.6 | +49 | Leans your wayLoses lane | 73 |
| Morgana | 47.6% | +377 | −1.3 | +139 | Leans your wayWins lane | 84 |
| Pantheon | 47.1% | +413 | +1.7 | +70 | Leans your wayWins lane | 70 |
Help us maintain accuracy! If you notice incorrect stats, missing data, or any issues, your feedback directly improves the quality of our data for the entire community.
Maokai Counters FAQ - Patch 26.20
Who counters Maokai?
In the Support lane this patch, the strongest counters to Maokai are Nautilus (52.4% over 126 games), Milio (54.9% over 71 games), Leona (51.4% over 111 games), Blitzcrank (51.5% over 99 games), Lulu (50.7% over 69 games).
What is Maokai's hardest matchup?
Nautilus. Maokai wins only 47.6% of 126 lane games against Nautilus and sits at +24 gold at 15 minutes.
What is Maokai good against?
Maokai's best Support matchups this patch are Thresh (59.8%), Lux (54.2%), Pyke (53.4%), Seraphine (51.5%).
Who beats Maokai in lane?
Measured by gold at 15 minutes, Maokai's toughest lanes are Vel'Koz (+672 gold ahead), Swain (+417 gold ahead), Pantheon (+413 gold ahead).
Is Maokai a lane bully?
No. Maokai Support averages 74 less gold than the lane opponent at 15 minutes and is ahead at 15 in 49% of games — Maokai plays for later fights.