How to beat Zed

Common role: Mid

The best counter to Zed in Mid is Singed: 63.2% win rate over 169 ranked games on patch 26.17.

A burst assassin who deletes squishies with his shadows and ultimate.

What makes Zed dangerous

Zed pokes with his shurikens (Q) through his shadow (W) and all-ins with his ultimate, marking you and returning to detonate all stored damage. He is a lane bully who snowballs by assassinating carries in the mid-game.

How to play against Zed

• 1Dodge his Q-shurikens — most of his poke and damage comes from them. Stand behind minions so only one of the three shurikens can hit you.
• 2When he ults you, watch which shadow he's near — you can flash or dash away from the shadow he'll swap to, dodging the delayed burst.
• 3He uses energy, not mana. Bait his abilities and he runs dry — punish his low-energy windows with a trade.
• 4A single point of hard CC or a Zhonya's Hourglass shuts down his all-in completely. Group with your team — he struggles when he can't isolate a target.

Weaknesses to exploit

• ✓Energy-starved if he wastes abilities.
• ✓All-in is telegraphed by his ultimate mark and shadow.
• ✓Falls off if the enemy carries build defensively.
• ✓No reliable escape once his W shadow is used.

Abilities & how to counter them

What each of Zed's abilities does — and how to play around it.

• P
  Contempt for the Weak

  Zed's basic attacks against low health targets deals bonus Magic Damage. This effect can only occur once every few seconds against the same enemy champion.

• Q
  Razor Shuriken

  Zed and his shadows throw their shurikens.Each shuriken deals damage to every enemy hit.

  Strong: long-range poke that hits from him and his shadow for double damage. Weak: skillshot — stand behind minions so only one shuriken lands.

• W
  Living Shadow

  Passive: Zed gains energy whenever he and his shadows strike an enemy with the same ability. Energy can only be gained once per cast ability.Active: Zed's shadow dashes forward, remaining in place for a few seconds. Reactivating Living Shadow will cause Zed to switch positions with this shadow.

  Strong: places a shadow to poke and dash to, key to his all-in and escape. Weak: once used he has no reposition — punish him while W is on cooldown.

• E
  Shadow Slash

  Zed and his Shadows slash, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Enemies hit by a Shadow's slash are slowed.

  Strong: slows and empowers his shurikens, part of every combo. Weak: short range — space out of melee to avoid the slow and reduce his damage.

• R
  Death Mark

  Zed becomes untargetable and dashes to an enemy champion, marking them. After 3 seconds the mark triggers, repeating a portion of all the damage Zed dealt to the target while they were marked.

  Strong: marks you and returns to detonate all stored damage — his kill button. Weak: telegraphed; flash or dash away from the shadow he'll swap to and dodge the burst.

Itemization

Zed deals physical damage, so armor is king: Seeker's Armguard into Zhonya's Hourglass is the classic answer for mid — the active negates his ult burst. Plated Steelcaps and any armor item help every role.

This guide covers Zed's core kit and playstyle — advice that holds up across patches.