i ve been using him for the free week , but im about to have 6300 ip , i might buy him . him or yorick , or maybe even brand . i dunno yet

That's okay. We'll just keep using him as our secret weapon. The others can stick to their namby pamby Yorick. :P

I have Brand. I should play him more.

how is brand ?

Not sure yet, have to play a few games first :P.

I enjoy him because he reminds me of Lina from Dota.

never played dota . but brand seem awesome . although very combo dependant

It has been my experience that while Maokai is a strong bot, he really shines top. Saplings to ward, ult works on everyone defending, knockbacks and snares to keep enemies under turret fire.

9/21/0, magic pen, armor, MR, movespeed runes
RoA, resistances, generally aiming for 40% CDR asap.

how you achieve the 40% cdr ?

9/21/0, go Mpen runes red/quint, MR/lvl, and health/lvl (yellows only).
Get boots/sapphire/ruby to start, than rush RoA. Than MPEN boots, frozen heart and u're near jesus status.

i have found that prospectors starts seems to be the best option

i have also been playing with sweeper as my second item which works really nice