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Smolder & Leona vs Jhin & Maokai

Bot Lane Matchup

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

You

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Who Wins

Pre-6, you and Leona win this lane — Leona's level 2 all-in with E+Q forces Jhin into a defensive position immediately, and your Q poke on a rooted target is free damage.
Post-6, you continue to win 2v2 as long as Leona can land her R, since Jhin has no escape and Maokai's R is a slower setup than Leona's instant lockdown.

Your best pattern is to let Leona engage first, then stack your Q on the locked-down Jhin to accelerate your passive stacks while dealing real damage — do not poke aggressively before Leona commits, as Maokai's W will punish you for stepping up.
Once Jhin is CC'd, your E can also be used to secure kills or zone Maokai off the play.

Push the wave fast to deny Maokai's E poke pattern and to create roam opportunities for Leona — Smolder scales with Q stacks, so getting clean CS and minion kills is your primary lane goal.
Avoid letting Maokai slow-push into you, as a large wave crashing into your tower limits your ability to engage safely.

Do not use your E aggressively before Leona has engaged — it telegraphs your all-in and gives Maokai time to W you before the lockdown lands.
Save E for follow-up damage or to finish kills, not as an initiation tool.

Created on 09/08/2026

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