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How to Win Maokai vs Zilean Counter MatchupMaokai is in the s tier of champions

Maokai vs Zilean

How to Beat Zilean as Maokai in LoLMaokai is in the s tier of champions
TankMage
SupportMage

How to Beat Zilean as Maokai

based on 1,900 Maokai vs Zilean matchups
Win Rate
51 %
K/D/A
2.57
Pick Rate
1.2 %

How We Analyze LoL Champion Counters

We summarize our counter stats from the millions of recently ranked League of Legends rounds that we get from Riot Games every week. This guide on how to beat Zilean as Maokai came out of an examination of 1900 ranked rounds where both champions battled each other. This matchup is relatively rare. Maokai encounters Zilean in only 1.2% of his matches.

Maokai vs Zilean Matchup Summary

Maokai does a decent job of beating Zilean. Typically, he wins a acceptable 51.0% of matches the champs face each other in. In Maokai versus Zilean matches, Maokai’s side is 0.1% more probable to obtain first blood, implying that he probably will be able to get first blood versus Zilean.

Best Maokai vs Zilean Counter Build

Items

Starter Items

Time Target
Health PotionWorld Atlas

Early Items

~5 Mins
BootsWinged Moonplate

Core Maokai Items

~22 Mins
TrailblazerKnight's VowSolstice Sleigh

Optional Items

Frozen HeartLocket of the Iron SolariKaenic RookernJak'Sho, The Protean

Summoner Spells

summonerflash summoner spell D
summonerdot summoner spell F

Skill Order

First skill for Maokai to level upq
>
Second ability for Maokai to level upw
>
Last skill for Maokai to max oute

Runes

ResolveAftershockFont of LifeBone PlatingUnflinching
InspirationBiscuit DeliveryCosmic Insight
Adaptive ForceArmorArmor
Maokai's passive ability p
Maokai's q ability q
Maokai's w ability w
Maokai's e ability e
Maokai's ultimate ability r
1
W
2
Q
3
E
4
Q
5
Q
6
R
7
Q
8
W
9
Q
10
W
11
R
12
W
13
W
14
E
15
E
16
R

Guide to Countering Zilean as Maokai

Tips for Playing as Maokai against Zilean

Maokai's passive makes him extremely durable against focus fire from spells - so long as he can still basic attack something.

Try looking for flanks or other situations where Nature's Grasp is unavoidable or takes enemies by surprise.

Saplings can be tossed into brush for empowered effect - but don't stack well.

Advice to Win Against Zilean

Zilean is fragile if a team focuses on him, but otherwise he's very difficult to kill. Commit to killing him as a team.

If you're able to match Zilean's speed, it can sometimes be beneficial to wait until his ultimate has faded before landing the killing blow.

Maokai vs Zilean Counter Stats

Maokai Image
Win Rate
51 %
VS
Win Rate
49 %
Zilean Image
2.6
< Kills >
2.5
5.6
< Deaths >
5
11.8
< Assists >
13
0.54
< Killing Sprees >
0.51
50
< Minions Killed >
57
0.32
< Dragons Killed >
0.04
0.42
< Inhibitors >
0.49
1,737
< Physical Damage >
1,136
11,737
< Magic Damage >
10,872
1,023
< True Damage >
782
14,498
< Damage Dealt >
12,791
29,553
< Damage Taken >
18,774
9,241
< Gold Earned >
8,984
1.42
< Towers >
1.89
0.07
< Baron Takedowns >
0.01
9,558
< Total Healing >
6,922
11,456
< Experience >
11,916
46
< Vision Score >
53
19
< Wards Placed >
23
433
< Time Dealing CC >
179

How to Counter Zilean with Maokai in LoL

The stats shown on this page clarify several vital Maokai vs. Zilean counter stats that can help you interpret the differences and similarities between the pair. For instance, Maokai’s KDA ratio ([kills + assists] / deaths) of NaN is greater than Zilean’s KDA ratio of NaN, indicating that Maokai may be more central to his team's team fighting capacity than Zilean..

Maokai typically has a similar longest kill spree as his foe does. On average, he receives more damage than Zilean. This commonly reflects differing health capacities, yet it can also illustrate that the one champion has less mobility and thus is not able to escape additional damage when engaged or poked.

Differences between Maokai and Zilean

Damage Types Compared

Maokai
Zilean
Physical Damage
Magic Damage
True Damage

Champion Playstyles Compared

Maokai
Zilean

Who is Better, Maokai or Zilean?

Both League of Legends champions are great champions. Both have their pros and cons. In League's current meta, Maokai usually wins when facing off against Zilean, with a 51.0% win rate. Thus, Maokai makes a good counter for Zilean.

While Maokai does have a higher winrate than Zilean, when they face off with one another, Maokai also has a lower learning curve that makes him a less time consuming character to learn. You should be careful when picking Maokai into Zilean.

Furthermore, Maokai has a lot of utility and CC, a similar amount to Zilean. This makes her just as valuable during team fights, especially when fighting champions with a lot of burst damage.

While there isn't one best champion for every situation in League of Legends, in Maokai vs Zilean matchups, Maokai is the better champ with a similar win rate, less champion complexity, and a similar amount of utility to help out your teammates during team fights.

Maokai is a decent counter to Zilean. Make sure you focus your gameplay on keeping up your gold and cs and taking out objectives. If you are able to do that, you should be able to stand on your own as Maokai against Zilean.

Other Champion Matchups Against Maokai

Maokai Loses Against

SwainSwain47.6% winrateLilliaLillia48.1% winrateMordekaiserMordekaiser48.4% winrateNilahNilah48.4% winrate

Maokai Wins Against

ZeriZeri59.4% winrateNidaleeNidalee59.1% winrateLeBlancLeBlanc57.8% winrateYuumiYuumi57.7% winrate

Top Synergies by Role

MordekaiserMordekaiser+ 56.1% 8797 GamesBrandBrand+ 56.5% 6844 GamesMiss FortuneMiss Fortune+ 57.2% 24108 GamesLilliaLillia+ 57.5% 8067 Games

Additional Information for Maokai Players

How We Calculated Our Maokai vs Zilean Build and Stats

For this guide on countering Zilean as Maokai, we analyzed 1,900 matchups from recent LoL games. We use rigorous data cleaning and processing methods to ensure that our counter stats are of the highest quality. You can rest assured that the recommended build to counter Zilean as Maokai comes from real data and is not the fabrication of some random LoL player, as some other sites provide. You can use the filters at the top of the page to view the most relevant stats and items to your rank.

Other Useful Resources

Maokai Build Zilean Build

Further Insights to Win this Matchup

To truly master Maokai to counter Zilean during both the lane and mid / late game phases of League of Legends, you should continue reading to pick up a few extra tricks and insights into this matchup. If you listen to the build and tips shown here, you will increase your win rate significantly and be closer to League of Legends pro players.

Maokai most often gets a similar amount of CS compared to Zilean. Champs who typically don't earn many minion kills often don't require much CS to be effective, such as sup champs. They are capable of scaling properly off of their abilities and first items alone. Yet, champions with large amounts of CS, such as hyper-carries, often have to have several high cost items to be effective. In either case, try to surpass the values reported on this page to do well.

The ideal items to focus on in your Maokai versus Zilean build consist of Trailblazer, Knight's Vow, and Solstice Sleigh. When Maokai used at least these three items in his build, he performed significantly better vs Zilean than with most other commonly used item sets. In fact, Maokai boasted an average winrate of 51.0% when playing against Zilean with these items in his kit.

To have the highest chance of coming out on top against Zilean as Maokai, Maokai players should take the Aftershock, Font of Life, Bone Plating, Unflinching, Biscuit Delivery, and Cosmic Insight runes from the Resolve and Inspiration rune sets. Of all the rune builds players picked for Maokai vs Zilean counters, this order of runes yielded the greatest win rate. Moreover, these runes averaged a 51.0% winrate overall.

By default, tips, stats, and builds on how to beat Zilean as Maokai are shown for every ranked division. If you would like to scope the stats and builds to a specific player tier, you can use the selection menu located at the top of this page.