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Maokai & Jhin vs Smolder & Leona

Bot Lane Matchup

Maokai vs Smolder (with Jhin & Leona) BOT matchup tips: who wins, how to trade, wave control and common mistakes.

You

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Who Wins

Pre-6, you and Jhin lose most extended trades against Leona's hard engage and Smolder's sustained poke — your W root is strong but Leona's E+Q lockdown into Smolder's stacking damage outpaces your durability early.
Post-6, your R gives you a meaningful teamfight advantage, but 2v2 is still risky unless you land W on Smolder before Leona can engage on Jhin.

Your best pattern is to W Smolder when he steps up to CS, forcing Leona to either disengage or commit to a trade where your Q slow and E damage can stack up — never let Leona pick the engagement timing.
If Leona engages first, you are reacting rather than dictating, which puts Jhin in immediate danger from her lockdown chain.

Push the wave consistently with your E to deny Smolder his passive stacking on minions and force him to CS under pressure — Smolder needs minion kills to scale his Q, so denying him clean CS is a real form of damage.
Avoid freezing; you want the wave in a position where Leona cannot dive you safely under tower.

Do not use your W reactively after Leona has already engaged — by then Jhin is already being locked down and your root on Smolder is too late to save the trade.
Save W as a proactive peel or disengage tool, not a panic button.

Created on 09/08/2026

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