Maokai the sad, sad treant.

As a Maokai main, previously, currently, either way. I can't bring myself to enjoy his rework. The only time i've seen him being useful in the slightest is as a support, spamming saplings in the bushes. His laning is horrid, he can't keep up with other top laners and he isn't rewarded for comboing with his w+q+e combo. His ulti is fine, in my honest opinion, however the rest of his kit is simply... It's lacking the identity that Maokai once had. I don't believe that his entire champion focus should have been pushed into his sapling, while it's a clever idea, it simply is too easy to counterplay. His q, the knockback i support. His w's near useless while he's in lane. Simply put his laning is abysmal. I find it hard to find success as a vanguard even, i can't enjoy the game in the slightest because when i am on the enemy team they can simply ignore me and jump straight onto the backline. Is it just me who's feeling this way about the tree?