Over the course of League of Legends’ latest patch, champions have shifted among the various tier lists around the community. But one pick has risen above the rest of the trees as the most dominant support in the game—and one of the strongest champions through Patch 14.2, too.
Maokai currently holds a destructive 55 percent win rate in Emerald rank and higher, according to LoL stats aggregate U.GG. This is the highest win rate of any champion in the game at this ranked distribution, while also boasting the third-highest play rate in the role at 10.8 percent.
From Silver to Diamond ranks, Maokai holds the highest win rate in the game and is the most played support in Master as well. Although there are plenty of tank supports that engage and soak up damage, none of these picks can stand up to the might of the Twisted Treant, who has become the go-to pick for multiple types of compositions in this patch.
There are plenty of reasons why Maokai has become a menace this season, from early-game dominance to his massive teamfight potential in the mid-to-late game. In the early game, he has great survivability due to his Sap Magic passive, which allows him to heal off of an enemy or minion periodically.
He can also poke out squishier targets with his Saplings and is an early kill threat due to the multiple forms of crowd control he brings. He can become temporarily invulnerable with his Twisted Advance as he zooms toward a target to root them, and he can blast them backward toward his allies with a well-placed Bramble Smash.
Eventually, Maokai becomes a massive threat with Nature’s Grasp (R), which can be used to start a gank, zone off a whole team from an objective or area, or ensure a clean retreat when a fight goes wrong. He can soak a ton of damage with some of the new tank items and can even get great vision by throwing his Saplings into bushes.
Maokai will be getting some adjustments in Patch 14.3, but overall, he should remain a power pick in solo queue that you might want to consider picking or banning while you make the arduous climb to the top of your leaderboards.
