Maokai - the next tier 1 tank?

You know you're are screwed when a tree is chasing you. 

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!

Maokai, the Twisted Treant, is Riot's latest attempt to make up for their streak of disappointing champion designs since Trundle. From what I have seen so far, Maokai seems to be quite a solid attempt to end the streak. Maokai is a tank; most likely built quasi-tank judging from his abilities. While Maokai possess immense teamplay potential, he is also a direct counter to the current "team AOE to win" meta-game. 

Maokai the Twisted Treant

Abilities:

Arcane Smash: Maokai slams the ground, the force of which knocks nearby enemies back and sends an arcane shockwave forward damaging and slowing his enemies.

Twisted Advance: Maokai dissolves into a cloud of arcane energies. He regrows near a target enemy, dealing damage and rooting it in place.

Sapling Toss: Maokai hurls a sapling, dealing damage on impact. The sapling becomes implanted in the ground warding a nearby area. When enemies approach, the sapling attacks, exploding in an arcane blast that damages enemies.

Vengeful Maelstrom (Ultimate): Maokai shields his allies by drawing power from hostile spells and attacks, reducing non-tower damage done to allied champions in the area. Maokai can prolong the effect as long as he has mana to spend on it. When the effect ends, Maokai unleashes the absorbed energy to deal damage to enemies within the vortex.

Sap Magic (Passive): Each time a champion near Maokai casts a spell, he gains a charge of Magical Sap. When he has 5 charges, his next melee attack drains energy from his target, healing Maokai for a percentage of his maximum HP.


Analysis


The first two things I noticed about Maokai's skills are its similarities with other games I have played before. His "E", Sapling Toss, reminds me of Starcraft's Spider Mines ability from the Vulture unit. And we know how annoying that is, right? If the ability is similar to Spider Mines, your enemies can kite and destroy them once they pop-out of the ground with decent Micro. Nonetheless, it is an awesome chasing/scouting tool. Another skill that perhaps draw influence from other games is Maokai's "W" -Twisted Advance. For those of you who have played Bloodline Champions, it bares resemblance to one of Thorn's skill. Again, if the two skills are truly similar, Maokai would be very annoying to play against. I can imagine the combo of "W" behind your unsuspecting enemy and "Q" knock him/her to your team for an easy gank.


My guess would be that Maokai's damage should be similar to Sion's - a combination of mostly AP and a bit of AD from his melee (except Maokai should have much lower damage scaling). His passive is based on AD melee attacks, which encourages players to lane aggressively to gain the lifesteal bonus. I would expect to see a combination of Mana and CDR with tanking item paths on him. Glacial shroud? Catalyst -> Banshee's? Win.


The reason I said earlier that Maokai is a team-focused champion as well as a counter to the current AOE meta is because of his ultimate skill. Vengeful Maelstrom has the ability to greatly negate enemy AOE initiations (Amumu's ult, Nunu's ult, etc.), and level the playing field for your team. Maokai's ult can also be used as an offensive teamfight weapon with your team's initiation. Lastly, it does damage and slows all enemies in the vortex range.


I am looking forward to play this champion. I am more excited for Jarvan, though.


Good luck and have fun!