Is Zed a Good Main

I get asked this question a lot! Is Zed a good main? That’s an interesting question. I wouldn’t say he is the best champion to main but he is definitely not the worst choice.

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Choosing a champion to main is always a difficult thing to do, most of the time people just go off on what they think the champion does depending on what the saw from other players in game. Most people are pretty angry the first couple of times they face Zed. I mean his damage is so high and he can dodge my skillshots with his R!

But yeah, it’s not that simple, let’s talk about Zed in general, what is his best lane? Is he easy to play? And why does everyone and their mother seem to play Zed? This questions and more will be answered in this article with great detail, keep reading!

Is Zed a good mid

Yes, he is a good mid lane champion. Mid is Zed’s best role best role. He’s especially good versus immobile mages in the mid lane, this is because they can’t dodge their combo at level 6, and their low hp pool makes them vulnerable to Zed’s high damage.

Zed can easily take over mid lane with his burst damage and his ability to both dodge and do damage with his Living Shadow(W) and his Shadow Mark(R).

Looking at the numbers Zed has got some interesting stats:

Win rate by Rank:

Bronze: 47.8%
Silver: 49.17%
Gold: 49.73%
Platinum: 49.93%
Diamond: 49.76%
Master: 52.24%
Challenger: 52.07%

The stats tell us that Zed is definitely a viable champion, his win rate increases with the skill of the player, you can expect to use this champion all the way from Bronze to Diamond! Just be careful if you’re not that experienced with assassins.

Is Zed a good top

Zed is not a traditional top lane champion, most of the time teams want a tank or a bruiser in top lane, they want a champion that can push the lane and become a problem 1v2. Zed is kind of different so he doesn’t fit that standard top lane “mold”.

But there are some situations in where Zed top makes sense. Zed can go even against these champions and look to roam into mid lane or herald in the mid game to carry his team into a win. Some of these are:

Has an advantage against these:

LeBlanc – She has to rely on dodging your combo or she dies, it’s easier for you to nuke her with both shadows than it is for her.
Azir – Farm safe early game, then you can win lane easily after 6.
Ahri – She also has quite short range and very low hp, similar to LeBlanc.

Can go even when facing these:

Yasuo – It’s even, don’t trade early, he can win early trades easily but it’s even after 6.
Yone – Very even, you can trade ok, Track his E position to all in with ignite
Akali – Even, don’t use ult if he has shroud.
Katarina – Stay away from daggers, if you don’t die early, it becomes easy so stay safe until then.
Kassadin – His passive is useless vs you, because he is op it’s even. If he gets nerfed then zed should win all the time.
Ryze – Very even, he is tanky so he’s not easy to kill, but he also struggles to kill you.
Lissandra – You have a big advantage before 6, abuse it to get ahead because after 6 it will be difficult to kill her.
Viktor – he can play very safe eventually not interacting with you much, but you can roam.
Jayce – He does a lot of damage but he is not that tanky, try and kill him at 6 but beware his poke.

I wouldn’t play Zed top vs these:

Zac – If he knows what he’s doing you’re not gonna kill him, too much hp.
Malphite – Horrible matchup, you barely do damage to him and he actually chunks you with his Q.
Karma – Does annoying damage and can move fast and shield herself, really bad matchup.
Pantheon – He can dominate the lane before 6, and after that he can either roam for kills, or contest the lane vs you, his E can block a lot of damage.
Irelia – She can fight you from lvl 1 to 18 and win. There is no point where you are stronger than her if even, very hard.
Renekton – Similar to Irelia, but he is tankier and does less consistent dmg but he can burst you. Very hard.

Is Zed easy to use

If you want a short answer then, no, playing Zed is not as easy as it looks.

For the longer answer: Playing zed is playing a champion that only has damaging abilities, his only slow is his Shadow Slash(E) and it’s not particularly good as a slow. If you fail to get your first 1 or 2 kills then the entire game becomes harder for you and your team.

Unlike a traditional control mage in the mid lane, Zed doesn’t have crowd control abilities with which to influence the course of a match even if playing from behind. Add to this the fact that he is a squishy melee champion and it becomes risky to even venture past the middle of the lane to get creeps.

Learning Zed involves learning how to play an assassin with only a single dash on a long cooldown, and this cooldown is also your main trading tool, if you use your W to trade you expose yourself to ganks in the mid lane (and top too).

Besides his ultimate his both his Q and W are skillshots that can be missed, so that’s also something to keep in mind.

Knowing all this, it’s not all bad, Zed is a good champion but he definitely requires a bit more playtime when we compare him with an objectively “easy” champion like Annie or Malzahar.

If you still want to play this champion, you will have to spend a bit more time before you see results, don’t be discouraged by a few losses at first, even if your first match ends badly keep going!

Why does everyone play Zed

You might have noticed that zed is always one of the most played champions in League of Legends. No matter the season Zed has always remained one of the most popular champions in the game. This has been the case ever since he was released back in early season 3.

There are many reasons why Zed is such a popular champion, but here is why I believe he is still so popular.

He looks cool

This champion appeals to a lot of players with his shadow ninja concept. Who doesn’t want to play as a cool ninja who can conjure shadow clones of himself?

He sounds cool

Even today, zed has one of the coolest voice lines in the game, bonus points for his interaction with other “ninja” champions like Akali and Shen.

He is fun to play

The reason we play League of Legends is to have fun and Zed is one of the most fun champions you can play. His entire playstyle is high risk, high reward this appeals to many people who want to dominate games with him.

He was one of the first “modern” assassins

Back when Zed was released, playing assassins was a completely different concept. The entire game was much more focused on targeted spells.

Other assassins that were played a lot back then included: Talon, Fizz, Katarina, Rengar.

Zed was different, his entire kit was designed around skillshots, unlike most of those! That’s why he has hardly been changed ever since his release and he’s still just as popular.

Should I play Zed

In my opinion it all depends on what you want to accomplish, and how you want to do it.

If you’re looking for a fun, cool champion that you can play all the way to challenger then Zed is a viable choice, you can expect to invest hundreds of games on him to hone your skills.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a quick trip through the ranks with what you perceive is an easy champion then think again. Zed is not overpowered as of season 13. It’s not uncommon to have to stay hugging tower against a bunch of matchups waiting for an opportunity to strike back.

The best players in League and the best Zed players in the world don’t need to dominate every single match up in mid lane, instead they actually look to win the game doing whatever it takes, even if they need to roam or farm in lane.

Another reason that you might not want to play Zed is that he is one of if not the most banned champion in mid lane, it’s not uncommon to see him banned every match. So, if you’re looking to one trick him then it might be better to learn another champion first to have as a backup.

Conclusion

We went over a lot of things on this article, from the intricacies of playing an assassin, to the multiple reasons why Zed is a viable champion if you’re willing to put in the time get good at him.

But at the of the day, you should follow your tastes. If you’re just chasing the next “meta” champion then you will change from patch to patch, eventually you will burn out on the game and never reach your potential.

Focus on developing a personal playstyle that appeals to you.