Assassin

Zed

The Master of Shadows

Utterly ruthless and without mercy, Zed is the leader of the Order of Shadow, an organization he created with the intent of militarizing Ionia's magical and martial traditions to drive out Noxian invaders. During the war, desperation led him to unlock the secret shadow form—a malevolent spirit magic as dangerous and corrupting as it is powerful.Read the full story on Riot's Universe site

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P
Contempt for the Weak
Q
Razor Shuriken
W
Living Shadow
E
Shadow Slash
R
Death Mark

Zed

Overview

On patch 16.21, Zed is rated C tier in the mid lane, winning 47.9% of 11,591 ranked games with a 12% pick rate. The most successful build this patch runs First Strike with Flash and Ignite and builds Voltaic Cyclosword, Bastionbreaker, Axiom Arc, and Crimson Lucidity.

Zed struggles most against Brand (30.6%), Cho'Gath (33.3%), and Heimerdinger (34.9%) and does best against Riven (72.7%), Ryze (65%), and Aurelion Sol (62.8%).

Ranked solo/duo · patch 16.21 · 11,591 games · updated Nov 1, 2026 · How we calculate

47.9%

Win rate

12%

Pick rate

11.6K

Games

16.21

Patch

Playing as Zed

Saving energy and spell cooldowns until you use your ultimate will maximize Death Mark's damage.
Quickly double tapping Living Shadow will teleport Zed to his shadow immediately for rapid escapes.
Placing a Living Shadow before using Death Mark can give Zed a safe escape from combat.

Playing against Zed

Zed receives bonus effect from Attack Damage items he purchases, so Armor is super effective against him.
After Zed uses his Living Shadow, he is at his most vulnerable as his damage, slow, and mobility are both dependent upon it.
Zed's Shadow Slash can only slow you if his shadow hits you with it.

Guides

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Matchups

All Zed matchups

Strong against

Riven72.7%22
Ryze65.0%60
Aurelion Sol62.8%43
Zoe61.5%117
Syndra56.6%249

Weak against

Brand30.6%36
Cho'Gath33.3%27
Heimerdinger34.9%43
Akshan36.5%52
Malphite38.3%162

Abilities

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.
Cooldown: 6Cost: 75/70/65/60/55Range: 900
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.
Cooldown: 20/19/18/17/16Cost: 40/35/30/25/20Range: 650
E
Shadow Slash
Zed and his Shadows slash, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Enemies hit by a Shadow's slash are slowed.
Cooldown: 5/4.5/4/3.5/3Cost: 40Range: 290
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.
Cooldown: 120/110/100Cost: 0Range: 625