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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Zilean Build, Runes and Counters — Support, Mid and Top · Patch 26.20

the Chronokeeper

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (2,697 games).

Zilean, the Chronokeeper, sends an ally back in time instead of dying with Chronoshift and speeds allies or slows enemies with Time Warp. Master+ played him as a support in most games and Mid or Top in the rest, mostly on Summon Aery. As a support, Thresh, Sona and Rell were his toughest lanes. Soraka and Lulu he edged out.

SupportMage

Patch 26.18 · Support · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 2,697 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Support)

ATier
Win Rate
50.8%
Pick Rate
4.1%
Ban Rate
1.7%

2,697

Games

High

Confidence

Win rate by lane

  • Support49.2% · 1,973 games
  • Mid54.3% · 352 games · small sample
  • Top56.4% · 305 games · small sample

Most common path

32 games

75.0%Win Rate

Start
FlashHeal

Other first item

27 games

70.4%Win Rate

Start
FlashTeleport

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 8.9% of games·46.9% win rate over 239 games.

Primary

Sorcery

Summon Aery

Your attacks and abilities send Aery to a target, damaging enemies or shielding allies.

Manaflow Band

Hitting an enemy champion with an ability permanently increases your maximum mana by 25, up to 250 mana. After reaching 250 bonus mana, restore 1% of your missing mana every 5 seconds.

Transcendence

Gain bonuses upon reaching the following levels:Level 5: +5 Ability Haste Level 8: +5 Ability Haste Level 11: On Champion takedown, reduce the remaining cooldown of basic abilities by 20%.

Waterwalking

Gain MS and AP or AD, adaptive in the river.

Secondary

Domination

Cheap Shot

Deal bonus true damage to enemy champions with impaired movement or actions.

Relentless Hunter

Unique takedowns grant permanent out of combat MS.

Shards

  • Ability Haste
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health Scaling

Other keystones taken

  • Guardian12.8% taken · 53.0% win345 games
  • Arcane Comet4.8% taken · 45.4% win130 games
  • Unsealed Spellbook4.5% taken · 56.2% win121 games

Tree pairs

  • Sorcery + Inspiration39.2% taken · 49.1% win1,056 games
  • Sorcery + Domination21.7% taken · 47.4% win585 games
  • Resolve + Sorcery10.3% taken · 52.2% win278 games

Skill Order

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

Q

Time Bomb

Tosses a bomb to target area that sticks to units that come near it (prioritizes Champions).

Cooldown 10/9.5/9/8.5/8s · 60/65/70/75/80 Mana
W

Rewind

Zilean can prepare himself for future confrontations, reducing the cooldowns of his other basic abilities.

Cooldown 14/12/10/8/6s · 35 Mana
E

Time Warp

Zilean bends time around any unit, decreasing an enemy's Move Speed or increasing an ally's Move Speed for a short time.

Cooldown 15s · 50 Mana
R

Chronoshift

Zilean places a protective time rune on an allied champion, teleporting the champion back in time if they take lethal damage.

Cooldown 120/90/60s · 125/150/175 Mana

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
QTime BombQQQQQ
WRewindWWWWW
ETime WarpEEEEE
RChronoshiftRRR

Matchup map (Support)

How Zilean performs against enemy support laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Zilean'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

ZileanSupport average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Zilean

  • Track the roam — it is strongest where the enemy jungler already is

  • Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip

  • Punish the cooldown — Zilean 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 6/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

  • P

    Time In A Bottle

    Zilean stores time as Experience and can grant it to his allies. When he has enough Experience to finish an ally's level up, he can right-click them to impart it. Zilean receives as much Experience as he gives.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Time Bomb

    Tosses a bomb to target area that sticks to units that come near it (prioritizes Champions). It detonates after 3 seconds, dealing area of effect damage. If a Time Bomb is detonated early by another Time Bomb, it also stuns enemies.

    Cost 60/65/70/75/80 ManaCooldown 10/9.5/9/8.5/8sRange 900

  • W

    Rewind

    Zilean can prepare himself for future confrontations, reducing the cooldowns of his other basic abilities.

    Cost 35 ManaCooldown 14/12/10/8/6sRange 600

  • E

    Time Warp

    Zilean bends time around any unit, decreasing an enemy's Move Speed or increasing an ally's Move Speed for a short time.

    Cost 50 ManaCooldown 15sRange 550

  • R

    Chronoshift

    Zilean places a protective time rune on an allied champion, teleporting the champion back in time if they take lethal damage.

    Cost 125/150/175 ManaCooldown 120/90/60sRange 900

Zilean balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Zilean in 1 patch. The latest is patch 26.8, published 2026-04-14.

  1. Patch 26.82026-04-14

    WRewind

    • W Level Up: No longer can level W at level 1.
    Why, in Riot's words

    As a quality of life change we’re looking to make sure Zilean can only put points into abilities he can fully utilize level 1.

Zilean skins (9)

Riot's data lists 9 looks for Zilean with their own art, the base skin included and 24 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateS
Win Rate
52.1%
▼ 0.6%
Pick Rate
7.1%
▼ 2.0%
Ban Rate
4.3%
▲ 2.6%
Damage dealt
101.7%
Damage taken
107.2%
Healing
99.3%
Shielding
108.9%
Ability Haste
+14

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. 26.1949.9% over 751 games · small sample-0.2
  2. 26.1850.7% over 1,440 games-0.3
  3. 26.1751.9% over 495 games · small sample—

Zilean's base stats against all 173 champions

StatZileanRankMedian
Base health574=152nd620
Health per level96=148th104
Base armor24=130th30
Armor per level5=18th4.6
Base magic resist30=110th32
Magic resist per level1.3=93rd1.55
Base attack damage52=150th59
Base attack speed0.658=54th0.656
Attack speed per level2.13%104th2.5%
Move speed335=74th335
Attack range550=9th175

Zilean at level 1 and level 18

  • Zilean reaches 2206 health at level 18 — 574 at level 1 plus 17 × 96, the 19th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Zilean reaches 1302 mana at level 18 — 452 at level 1 plus 17 × 50, the 20th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
  • Zilean reaches 109 armor at level 18 — 24 at level 1 plus 17 × 5, the 75th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Zilean reaches 52.1 magic resist at level 18 — 30 at level 1 plus 17 × 1.3, the 34th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 43.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health574+962206155th of 173
Mana452+50130220th of 145
Armor24+510975th of 173
Magic resist30+1.352.1=97th of 173

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

Riot's tips for Zilean

Playing Zilean

  • You can combine the use of Time Bomb and Rewind to place two Time Bombs on a target quickly. Placing the second bomb will detonate the first and stun all nearby enemies.
  • Time Warp is an effective way to enable allies to finish off enemies, or escape from a losing battle.
  • Chronoshift is a powerful deterrent to attacking your carries, but casting Chronoshift too early in a fight can cause the enemy to switch targets too soon, making it less effective.

Playing against Zilean

  • If you're able to match Zilean's speed, it can sometimes be beneficial to wait until his ultimate has faded before landing the killing blow.
  • Zilean is fragile if a team focuses on him, but otherwise he's very difficult to kill. Commit to killing him as a team.

Quick answers about Zilean

How does Zilean do against Thresh?
Zilean won 44.6% of 112 counted Master+ games against Thresh. Thresh is one of the opponents that beat Zilean.
How does Zilean do against Sona?
Zilean won 44.4% of 72 counted Master+ games against Sona. Sona is one of the opponents that beat Zilean. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zilean do against Rell?
Zilean won 43.6% of 78 counted Master+ games against Rell. Rell is one of the opponents that beat Zilean. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zilean do against Nautilus?
Zilean won 46.6% of 161 counted Master+ games against Nautilus. Nautilus is one of the opponents that beat Zilean.
How does Zilean do against Bard?
Zilean won 46.3% of 108 counted Master+ games against Bard. Bard is one of the opponents that beat Zilean.
How does Zilean do against Soraka?
Zilean won 54.7% of 53 counted Master+ games against Soraka. It is a matchup Zilean wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Zilean do against Lulu?
Zilean won 53.2% of 154 counted Master+ games against Lulu. It is a matchup Zilean wins more often than not.
How does Zilean do against Leona?
Zilean won 51.1% of 47 counted Master+ games against Leona. It is close to even. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Zilean?
Riot classes Zilean as Support and Mage. This site files the champion under Support.
How hard is Zilean to play?
Riot rates Zilean's difficulty 6 out of 10.
What resource does Zilean use?
Zilean's abilities spend Mana.
What is Zilean's attack range?
550 units — the 9th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 36 others).
What are Zilean's abilities?
Passive — Time In A Bottle, Q — Time Bomb, W — Rewind, E — Time Warp and R — Chronoshift.
How many skins does Zilean have?
Riot's data lists 9 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 24 chroma variants.
How much health does Zilean have at level 18?
2206 — 574 at level 1 plus 17 × 96 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Zilean's ultimate cooldown?
Chronoshift (R): 120/90/60 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Zilean?
Patch 26.8, published 14 April 2026 — the latest of 1 patch that change Zilean in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Zilean at a glance

Zilean, the Chronokeeper, is a Support and Mage champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 6/10 for difficulty, 2/10 for attack, 5/10 for defense and 8/10 for magic. Zilean spends Mana and has 9 skins with their own art.

Attack2/10
Defense5/10
Magic8/10
Difficulty6/10

Zilean's story

Once a powerful Icathian mage, Zilean became obsessed with the passage of time after witnessing his homeland's destruction by the Void. Unable to spare even a minute to grieve the catastrophic loss, he called upon ancient temporal magic to divine all possible outcomes. Having become functionally immortal, Zilean now drifts through the past, present, and future, bending and warping the flow of time around him, always searching for that elusive moment that will turn back the clock and undo Icathia's destruction.
— 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.

Zilean on video

Published by 3 Minute League of Legends on YouTube, 1 April 2025.

1 year 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.