Why is maokai always one of the strongest tanks during a tank meta?

doodlebob666·Dec 11, 2016·16 votes·4,575 views

I've only been playing for one season but in my limited experience seems to be at the top of the food chain for tanks when they're meta. Why is that?

41 Comments

HateDaddyDec 11, 20169 votes

He's relevant no matter how hard you shit on him and he's unkillable if he gets ahead between his passive, disruption and ults damage reduction

oSEXYPLATYPUSoDec 11, 20161 votes

this is soo true...

i just went 10-1-8 as maokai top vs a team of rengar, elise, victor, sona, kogmaw

doodlebob666Dec 11, 20161 votes

just as a question is iceborn a good buy on him still, or is frozen heart better

oSEXYPLATYPUSoDec 11, 20162 votes

i like iceborn over frozen heart. he has high base ad so if you are able to auto after your Q,W,E on a target you do the bonus damage on it procing sheen makes for alot of damage.

plus you still get the cdr, armor, mana from it just the same of frozen heart

5000000000000000Dec 11, 20162 votes

The difference between the two items is 35 armor and passives. Given that, I think either could be good, depending on situation.

YumaS2AstralDec 11, 20161 votes

I usually buy Frozen Heart on Maokai if I am behind, where the damage will not be as useful but being tankier certainly will. Unlike Malphite, Maokai has a lot more hard CC so having IBG's slow is not as necessary. IBG is mainly when you are not behind, for that extra damage which will allow you to better trade with enemies.

oSEXYPLATYPUSoDec 11, 20161 votes

Maokai offers so much , he has good damage, great scaling on AP. sustain in his passive, his ult. entire kit. effective when behind, a monster if ahead. great team fight champ , fits into almost any team comp. and with his scaling W he can out fight tanks and take them down

NvestmentPlankerDec 11, 20161 votes

in what way is his AP scaling great? and if you're building any AP on maokai you're playing him wrong. his ult scales for 50%, Q is either 60% or 65%. maokai gets his damage from building CD reduction and being able to spam abilities along with a sunfire cape.

WoonStruckDec 11, 20161 votes

Because his AP scaling was literally gutted with his mini-rework, but he can still burst squishies with RoA->Abyssal->sunfire->IBG.

Hell, due to his base damage he can still have kill pressure on squishies with just sunfire+IBG.

oSEXYPLATYPUSoDec 11, 20161 votes

you have what 15 games on maokai?

i have HUNDREDS

here is one game as MAO where i did 75k damage to champs http://imgur.com/c9v0PB3 went 18-9-19

oSEXYPLATYPUSoDec 11, 20161 votes

my last few games as mao. the one lost where i was 1-2-0 i had to ff that game due to internet issues and having over 500 ping and dcing nonstop.

so not counting that game i am 4-2 on him in my last 6 games played top, jungle and support with a kda of 29/24/75 for 4.33 kda score

http://imgur.com/mJBWxcK

SohleksDec 11, 20161 votes

On top of that he's nigh impossible to screw up (highly reliable) with his point click root n combo.

A tank such consistent widespread power shouldn't be so easy to play too. Him and Nautilus.

StrawberrycocoaDec 11, 20167 votes

Maokai has CC on almost every ability and flat % damage reduction for his entire TEAM if he places his ult properly. He has a lot of utility in his kit that's good in any composition strategy.

The DeckownerDec 11, 20164 votes

Because Maokai is reliable, similar to why Leblanc is always the best assassin.

CatastropDec 11, 20164 votes

CC on every basic skill, sustain, untargetability, poke, flat damage mitigation that can't be pierced and a relatively low skill floor/ceiling. The only person who I'd say outclasses him is Poppy.

agbudarDec 11, 20163 votes

poke max hp% damage dash very powerful ult knockup and sustain

not many tanks have that

doodlebob666Dec 11, 20161 votes

so that means he's kind of like the azir of tanks? As in he does everything everyone else does but more, if so shouldn't he get a minor rework so he doesn't crowd people out to much?

ps: im currently using him to get good placements so this isn't me hating on him

oSEXYPLATYPUSoDec 11, 20161 votes

Maokai is my so called main...

i love this champ... i play him top, jungle mid *depending if match up favors * and support

5000000000000000Dec 11, 20161 votes

His E is a horrible poke tool (too little damage unless maxed early, and high mana cost anyway). If you mean Q, it's more of a trading tool than a poke tool, imo. Max %HP damage is pretty common in tanks, and many other top laners (mostly skirmishers). Amumu DrMundo Fiora Gnar Gragas Garen (to villain only) JarvanIV Jayce Kled Mordekaiser Nasus Poppy Sejuani Shen Shyvana Singed Sion Trundle Warwick XinZhao Yorick Zac , not to mention champions in other roles/positions. There are also on-hit champions who often build item 3153 .

A targeted snare/dash that can't be interrupted is definitely very powerful, as his ultimate. And his sustain is one of his core strengths. But I wouldn't say he's a generalist. He's a great teamfighter and a warden, but he can't really engage (unless you flash or build protobelt) or escape easily.

agbudarDec 12, 20161 votes

the point is that he has it all much like someone like irelia (although she doesn't have max hp damage in her kit thank god)

Athenes LuluDec 11, 20163 votes

Don't forget on how he's really "easy" to play.

As in, the simple kit, very little skillshot kind of easy.

5000000000000000Dec 11, 20161 votes

Easy to pick up/low mechanical ceiling

tseihaiDec 11, 20162 votes

because people need to know that Tanking is almost completely about crowd control _not _ stats

mao has a lot more repeatable CC compared to other tanks, which explains why amumu(having long cd's) isn't that great of a tank in comparison.

mao also has ability power damage scaling, and lots of sustain in his kit. This makes him better at jungling and solo laning compared to other heavy cc champions such as leona, even though the base dmg of the two is similar.

Rockm SockmDec 11, 20162 votes

Good c/c
Ap top
Good team fighting ult

Poppy is far to tankier, easier and can lane against anyone. She scales super hard so no one can split push against her late. If all you want to do is climb, spam the freelo.

If you get another shitty Ad mid, pick Maokai.

LordGeovanniDec 11, 20162 votes

Not that ive even seen him since 2 weeks after they gave out his victorious skin maybe because he is the only tank with damage reduction (dont say amumu) where the stat actually belongs and not on assassins and adcs.

Big LincolnDec 11, 20161 votes

because Maokai has a lot of reliable CC and unfair damage, plus his ult

so on top of being a really strong tank in his own right, Maokai is also stupidly effective at fighting other tanks past laning phase

LankPantsDec 11, 20161 votes

Because Maokai fills a particular niche that no other tank does. Other tanks, at least in the top lane can't reduce the damage that their team takes in the same way Maokai does. You need 25% more damage to kill anyone on Maokai's team, since he reduces the damage his teamates take to 80%. That's a lot of extra damage to kill someone, it's the difference between a carry living or dying. This is just a very unique strength that no other champ brings, so of course Maokai's going to be persistent when he's playable.

MunchCrunchLunchDec 11, 20161 votes

hes meh to be honest a lot of top laners can destroy him and basically get fed off him because his laning is weak. his strength is team ifghting. with ult he reduces a lot of damage and good cc with Q and point and click W.

R4GODMODEDec 11, 20161 votes

Because he's very easy to play and has high impact as a tank

XxxLumberJackxxXDec 11, 20161 votes

Passive and r

WoonStruckDec 11, 20161 votes

Sustain, decent AP scaling, % damage, lock-down, peel, % damage reduction for his team, high base damage due to Q/E/R.

SpoofghoulDec 11, 20161 votes

4 things really

easy peasy point and click root which makes him untargetable so its an unavoidable engage
His ultimate gives 20% damage reduction in aoe which is extremely powerful during mid game where most champions still rely on base damage, and it also helps him a lot in the late game where armor is easily penetrated and therefore tanks usually get squishy again except for maokai cos damage reduction which cannot be penetrated
His wavepushing power, unlike some tanks Maokai has an easy time shoving waves this helps with defending towers and in laningfase
His passive sustain another potent tank steroid in teamfights but also very good for his laningfase to not get bullied out

And he has good basedamages too

Existential BardDec 11, 20161 votes

Please spell check posts. This made me cringe. Fase =phase

SpoofghoulDec 12, 20161 votes

Well, I'm sorry i don't triple check my spelling every time i write something on these boards.

And why should i, this isn't any sort of official stuff nor is it work related so it's not that important

Besides ive got dyslexia and English is not my native language. . .

So now write me an essay in Dutch about what it's like to be a nit picky grammar nazi, without any grammar and spelling mistakes! And then we can talk again.

statelesskillerDec 11, 20161 votes

he has everything you could want in a tank

he makes his TEAM tanky

he has reliable CC

he has multiple FORMS of CC

he has great base damages

and while being a tanky monster he also has a passive that heals him for being in the middle of the fight

RisenDarkKnightDec 11, 20161 votes

His passive is just really, really good when tanks are strong because he can just keep regening indefinitely in teamfights. (when tanks are weak he can get bursted before he gets too many passive procs off).

SirHeavyScrotumDec 11, 20161 votes

His ult is a big deal in a team fight, and he's hard to bully in lane so it's hard to counter pick him. He's also got point and click CC which means you can't outplay him. Lack of counterplay + safe laning phase + strong team fight = good champion

Sire HippingtonDec 11, 20161 votes

Good sustain, both in lane and teamfights? check. **Targeted **gapcloser+hard-cc that makes untargetable? check. Low cd aoe interuption? check. Good trades in lane? check. Good Waceclear? check. Good aoe damage in teamfights? check. Aoe %-damage reduction that can't be penetrated? check. Solid base stats? check. Short-ifed mini wards? check.

Mao has just a very well rounded kit for a tank, his lane is not dominant, but pretty decent and rather save. His teamfights at all points of the game are good, he can create picks with his targeted hard cc, he can avoid getting picked with the extra vision from his E, he's good at peeling but he can engage just as well. No matter what your team needs from the frontline, mao can give it, all while beeing a save laner with high setup potential for jungle ganks.

The main reason he's so strong is his W, up to 2sec targeted hard cc, and a gapcloser that makes him untargetable, so he can't be interupted by any cc and he won't take much damage till he's actually in the targets face. Really, not takeing any harm duering your gapcloser is pretty huge, especially in high elos where people have fast reactions and throw shit at you mid air already. On top of that, the mix of his passive and the %-reduction from his ult make him one of the tankiest champs in tamfights. One of the few where i don't fear to go ham, because unlik most other champs, mao actually survives for some time, especially with CoC.

Also, it's important to note that mao rarly is really on top of the food chain, but just slightly below that. He's just a very solid and save pick as soon as tanks are relevant. But atleast at high elo/pro-play, he rarly is banned or seen as a powerpick, but usually as a save option for firstpicking the lane aswell as a good alternative should the prime tank be unaviable(currently poppy and naut have priority over mao)

SeenanDec 11, 20161 votes

Cause he actually has a tank kit that lets him build tanky and still feel relevant. He doesn't really have respectable damage unless you're squishy, but he has all that cc that's imperative for a good tank to have. Amumu likes to build AP with his cc because all he has is two ccs, less relevant as a tank and more as an initiator. Even Malphite is the same. One hard-cc and that's his ult. Sej is a good example of a decent tank too with two hard ccs, (both being skill shots) and one soft cc. Except, even she's built with AP bruiser/tank in mind.

With CotC out now, he also has a shield that can vary if he manages to Q a bunch of people near him or W someone, which is balanced well on him.

You get a level 5 Root on the ADC as Malphite? He shouldn't survive if at least one decent damage dealer is nearby.

LongHair FoxDec 12, 20161 votes

He is good with other tanks on his team, he is good in slower teamfights with less damage and he lanes well against other tanks. It is really just that he enjoys tank meta more than most tanks do.

Meep ManDec 12, 20161 votes

He is a Tank that enjoys Tank metas. Furthermore, he is just a well designed Tank.