Every figure shows its source. Where a source is missing, the number is a placeholder — and it is never written as fact.

By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Zed Counters, Build and Runes — Mid, Jungle and Top · Patch 26.20

the Master of Shadows

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (5,879 games).

Zed, the Master of Shadows, casts each ability again from his Living Shadow and becomes untargetable during Death Mark before it detonates. Master+ played him Mid most, sometimes in the jungle or Top, mostly on First Strike, with Voltaic Cyclosword into Bastionbreaker as the lethality core. Yasuo, LeBlanc and Irelia beat him most often. Veigar, Hwei and Galio fared worse against him.

Assassin

Patch 26.18 · Mid · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 5,879 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Mid)

ATier
Win Rate
50.8%
Pick Rate
9.0%
Ban Rate
18.4%

5,879

Games

Very High

Confidence

Win rate by lane

  • Mid50.9% · 4,258 games
  • Jungle48.4% · 818 games · small sample
  • Top52.6% · 633 games · small sample

Most common path

546 games

51.1%Win Rate

Start
FlashIgnite

Highest win rate path

495 games

61.2%Win Rate

Start
FlashIgnite

Other first item

121 games

53.7%Win Rate

Start
FlashTeleport

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 18.9% of games·54.0% win rate over 1,113 games.

Primary

Inspiration

First Strike

When you initiate champion combat, deal 7% extra damage for 3 seconds and gain gold based on damage dealt.

Cash Back

Get some gold back when you purchase Legendary Items.

Triple Tonic

Upon reaching level 3, gain an Elixir of Avarice. Upon reaching level 6, gain an Elixir of Force. Upon reaching level 9, gain an Elixir of Skill.

Jack Of All Trades

For each different stat gained from items, gain one Jack stack. Each stack grants you 1 Ability Haste. Gain bonus Adaptive Force at 5 and 10 stacks.

Secondary

Precision

Legend: Haste

Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Basic Ability Haste.

Cut Down

Deal more damage to high health enemy champions.

Shards

  • Adaptive Force
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health Scaling

Other keystones taken

  • Electrocute15.8% taken · 45.4% win928 games
  • Conqueror11.9% taken · 47.4% win699 games
  • Arcane Comet0.6% taken · 47.2% win36 games

Tree pairs

  • Inspiration + Precision52.3% taken · 52.7% win3,077 games
  • Inspiration + Domination10.8% taken · 50.0% win634 games
  • Domination + Sorcery9.3% taken · 45.4% win546 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Zed's most common path.

Q

Razor Shuriken

Zed and his shadows throw their shurikens.

Cooldown 6s · 75/70/65/60/55 Energy
W

Living Shadow

Passive: Zed gains energy whenever he and his shadows strike an enemy with the same ability.

Cooldown 20/19/18/17/16s · 40/35/30/25/20 Energy
E

Shadow Slash

Zed and his Shadows slash, dealing damage to nearby enemies.

Cooldown 5/4.5/4/3.5/3s · 40 Energy
R

Death Mark

Zed becomes untargetable and dashes to an enemy champion, marking them.

Cooldown 120/110/100s · No cost

Max Order

QEW

Max Q first, then E, then W. Take R whenever available (6 / 12 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QRazor ShurikenQQQQQ
WLiving ShadowWWWWW
EShadow SlashEEEEE
RDeath MarkRRR

Matchup map (Mid)

How Zed performs against enemy mid laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Zed's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18
Mythic / CoreFirst major item
Core 2Second item
Core 3Third item
BootsBoot slot
SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

ZedMid average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Zed

  • Deny the reset — it wants a kill to come back out; a warded exit removes it

  • Punish the cooldown — Zed is exposed while its rotation is down

  • Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one

  • Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 7/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

  • Trade on your terms — take the fight where its damage lands on nobody

Ability details

  • 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.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Razor Shuriken

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

    Cost 75/70/65/60/55 EnergyCooldown 6sRange 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.

    Cost 40/35/30/25/20 EnergyCooldown 20/19/18/17/16sRange 650

  • E

    Shadow Slash

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

    Cost 40 EnergyCooldown 5/4.5/4/3.5/3sRange 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.

    No costCooldown 120/110/100sRange 625

Zed balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Zed in 5 patches. The latest is patch 26.10, published 2026-05-12.

  1. Patch 26.102026-05-12

    P - Contempt for the Weak

    • Max Health Damage6 / 8 / 10%to5 / 7.5 / 10%

    EShadow Slash

    • Damage70 / 95 / 120 / 145 / 170 (+80% bonus AD)to70 / 92.5 / 115 / 137.5 / 160 (+70% bonus AD)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Zed has soared in power along with huge spikes in pickrate with Season 2’s changes, and we think he’s still going to be extremely solid despite systemic nerfs. We’d like to preserve his identity as a strong laner, but hit some of his most guaranteed damage.

  2. Patch 26.32026-02-03

    PContempt for the Weak

    • Damage to monsters1.2xto0.5x
    • Maximum damage to epic monsters300to100
    Why, in Riot's words

    We regret having jungle Zed in three of the past four patches now but players keep getting better at playing and itemizing this shadow ninja to the point where he wins more frequently today than he did before we shipped that first nerf. We're comfortable with how mid lane Zed is sitting but he's still overshadowing too many champions in the jungle. While this nerf looks very large on paper, the net impact of nerfing his jungle mod from 2.0 to 1.2 was under 1% of win rate movement, and we're looking for more than that here.

  3. Patch 26.22026-01-21

    PContempt for the Weak

    • Monster Damage1.8xto1.2x
    Why, in Riot's words

    Zed’s recent jungle changes didn't affect him as strongly as we had anticipated, and players have noticed, resulting in a resurgence of pick and ban rate. We’d like to slow his clear and lower his potency, this time with more accuracy now that we have a better understanding of how to tune him in the jungle.

  4. Patch 25.242025-12-02

    PContempt for the Weak

    • Damage to Monsters2xto1.8x
    Why, in Riot's words

    One bar we want to hold for high-quality jungle gameplay is around exactly how quickly a champion can clear their own jungle and then reasonably invade their opponents. In Zed's case, he can clear his jungle to hit level 4 and invade you, or instead, Recall, buy two Long Swords, and then fight you for Rift Scuttler. Of course someone has to have the fastest clear in the game (that crown will move to Ivern most likely), but what they do with that speed is important, and the way Zed manifests his jungle strengths crosses the line. So this patch, we're slowing his early jungle clear speed by a few seconds, which we expect will make him too weak for many players. While we like the variety he brings to the game and jungle, we don't believe it can come at the cost of overall game health.

  5. Patch 25.052025-03-04

    EShadow Slash

    • Damage65/90/115/140/165 (+65% bonus AD)to70/95/120/145/170 (+80% bonus AD)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Zed is still looking a bit worse for wear and is deserving of a shot in the arm. We want to give him more damage that asks him to risk his body or put his shadow on cooldown in order to access it.

Zed skins (15)

Riot's data lists 15 looks for Zed with their own art, the base skin included and 57 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB
Win Rate
51.0%
▲ 0.1%
Pick Rate
2.2%
▲ 2.8%
Ban Rate
5.5%
▼ 2.2%
Damage dealt
91.1%
Damage taken
97.1%
Healing
89.0%
Shielding
94.3%
Ability Haste
+17

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.1951.3% over 1,624 games+0.6
  2. 26.1850.0% over 3,324 games-1.0
  3. 26.1752.7% over 900 games · small sample—

Zed's base stats against all 173 champions

  • Zed's base magic resist of 29 is the 15th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 1 other).
StatZedRankMedian
Base health65424th620
Health per level99=126th104
Base armor32=65th30
Armor per level4.7=42nd4.6
Base magic resist29=158th32
Magic resist per level2.05=4th1.55
Base attack damage63=41st59
Base attack speed0.651=88th0.656
Attack speed per level3.3%=31st2.5%
Move speed345=9th335
Attack range125=129th175

Zed at level 1 and level 18

  • Zed reaches 2337 health at level 18 — 654 at level 1 plus 17 × 99, the 59th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Zed reaches 111.9 armor at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.7, the 54th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 2.
  • Zed reaches 63.85 magic resist at level 18 — 29 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.05, the 77th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health654+992337115th of 173
Armor32+4.7111.9=54th of 173
Magic resist29+2.0563.8577th of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Zed

Playing 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.

Quick answers about Zed

How does Zed do against Yasuo?
Zed won 42.3% of 182 counted Master+ games against Yasuo. Yasuo is one of the opponents that beat Zed.
How does Zed do against LeBlanc?
Zed won 42.6% of 141 counted Master+ games against LeBlanc. LeBlanc is one of the opponents that beat Zed.
How does Zed do against Irelia?
Zed won 38.5% of 65 counted Master+ games against Irelia. Irelia is one of the opponents that beat Zed. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zed do against Nasus?
Zed won 40.3% of 77 counted Master+ games against Nasus. Nasus is one of the opponents that beat Zed. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zed do against Talon?
Zed won 42.1% of 38 counted Master+ games against Talon. Talon is one of the opponents that beat Zed. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zed do against Galio?
Zed won 59.1% of 93 counted Master+ games against Galio. It is a matchup Zed wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zed do against Hwei?
Zed won 60.8% of 51 counted Master+ games against Hwei. It is a matchup Zed wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zed do against Ahri?
Zed won 52.5% of 200 counted Master+ games against Ahri. It is close to even.
What class is Zed?
Riot classes Zed as Assassin. This site files the champion under Mid.
How hard is Zed to play?
Riot rates Zed's difficulty 7 out of 10.
What resource does Zed use?
Zed's abilities spend Energy.
What is Zed's attack range?
125 units — the lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 44 others).
What are Zed's abilities?
Passive — Contempt for the Weak, Q — Razor Shuriken, W — Living Shadow, E — Shadow Slash and R — Death Mark.
How many skins does Zed have?
Riot's data lists 15 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 57 chroma variants.
How much health does Zed have at level 18?
2337 — 654 at level 1 plus 17 × 99 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Zed's ultimate cooldown?
Death Mark (R): 120/110/100 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Zed?
Patch 26.10, published 12 May 2026 — the latest of 5 patches that change Zed in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Zed at a glance

Zed, the Master of Shadows, is a Assassin champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 7/10 for difficulty, 9/10 for attack, 2/10 for defense and 1/10 for magic. Zed spends Energy and has 15 skins with their own art. Zed's base magic resist of 29 is the 15th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 1 other).

Attack9/10
Defense2/10
Magic1/10
Difficulty7/10

Zed's story

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. Zed has mastered all of these forbidden techniques to destroy anything he sees as a threat to his nation, or his new order.
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

Share cheat sheet

Methodology

Data window
Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters
The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample
None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause
An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Zed on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 13 November 2012.

13 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.