5 Champions That Counter Zed

5 Champions Who Counter Zed

Zed is always a strong pick in Solo Queue. Assassins, in general, are incredibly good right now, thanks to several factors, including power spikes and itemisation. Because Zed is so popular and so good, you must learn how to play against him and pick a favourable champion into him if he is picked already.

In this Mobalytics guide, we will break down 5 champions that are good into Zed. Pick one of these 5 champions if you see Zed picked up in a previous rotation to increase your chances of winning the mid-lane!

Zed’s itemisation and gameplay can be hard to understand. Check out Zed’s champion page for tips and tricks, including his Rune and build setup to get one over the enemy.

The best champions that counter Zed are Garen, Pantheon, Diana, Anivia and Malphite. You can find all the matchup tips we use in this guide on the Mobalytics App. For plus members, you can get specific matchup tips for the champion you’re playing versus the enemy laner at your fingertips while you load into the game. We have tens of thousands of different, highly specific matchups curated by our challenger level players to help you lane against the enemy champion.

1. Zed vs Garen

Garen has a silence on his Q, making it nearly impossible for him to look for aggressive plays. While he may be stronger in the very early game, as you get levels under your belt, it will be near impossible for him to fight you post 6 as long as you keep your Q up.

4 tips to counter Zed as Garen

When trying to farm, you will inevitably be poked out. Just let your Passive proc before going for consecutive fights against Zed to maximize your lane time.
Try not to get too far behind during the early game. It is the only phase you are weak in. Also, let your team know if Zed decides to roam around.
Missing some minions is alright in this lane. When fighting Zed, use your abilities to silence him, especially before he manages to teleport back to his shadow.
Keep the wave in the middle of the lane and do not push too far up in this lane. Do your best to wave clear to ensure that Zed isn’t able to leave the lane frequently.

2. Zed vs Pantheon

One of Zed’s biggest counters is engage champions and champions that can stick to him. Pantheon can get on top of him with his kit and protect himself from incoming damage too. Panth has burst damage with his empowered abilities and can match/out roam the Zed post 6.

4 tips to counter Zed as Pantheon

Zed relies on his Q to farm from a distance when he is pressured in the lane. Bully him by zoning him from the farm. Step in front of the minion he may be trying to last hit and use your E ability to negate the damage and stop the shuriken midway.
Zed will be afraid of your damage output until level 6. Use this to your advantage and bully him in the lane with your ranged Q ability. You have the choice to use your passive and poke or use it and tap the Q to thrust it forward and gain an additional 100% damage and slow him.
Pantheon gains a stack when he lands a basic attack on-hit or casts an ability, up to a maximum of 5. At 5 stacks, Pantheon’s next basic ability consumes the stacks to gain additional effects. Use this against zed to gain an empowered W and lock him down at level. Follow this up with a Q to do massive damage in a trade.
Once Zed hits level 6, he will attempt to all in you. To negate most of his damage output, stun him with your W as soon as he places the death mark on you. Once this is done, use your E and retreat toward your tower to negate most of his damage output.

3. Zed vs Diana

Diana is powerful in the current meta. She has a lot of all-in potential and can beat a Zed easily if she plays around his energy. Diana has good roam potential and can help her allies more effectively than Zed in the earlier parts of the game.

4 tips to counter Zed as Diana

Use your W in this matchup purely as a defensive tool and not to last hit with. If you use outside of protecting you from poke, you’re giving Zed an optimal time to look to trade.
Zed’s weakest moments in the lane are from levels 1 to 3. Play aggressively to build a health advantage early.
When Zed uses his W aggressively, look to dodge the all in. Please take advantage of his cooldowns and chase him down while he has no mobility.
At level 6, Diana will gain a huge power spike that will increase her kill risk in the lane. If you can get the level up first, you should look for an all in.

4. Zed as Anivia

Anivia’s Passive directly counters Zed. He is an assassin, and if he wants to all-in the Anivia, he will have to “kill” her once and then kill her again afterwards. Without a gank, he can’t have enough time or damage to blow her egg and then kill her afterwards. Post 6, Anivia can position safely and keep him pushed into his tower, reducing his roam potential.

4 tips to counter Zed vs Anivia

When Zed uses his Ultimate on you, he will emerge from the backside of your champion, save your Q to stun him as soon as he comes out of his R. This way, you disrupt his whole combo and deals devastating damage with your E.
Zed’s Q deals less damage if it hits a target first. Stand behind minions to avoid the majority of the damage.
Zed will look to roam often, especially because he will be unable to kill you with your Passive, constantly shove wave denying him the opportunity to roam or, if he does choose to roam, punishing him by making him miss CS and EXP.
As Zed’s W cooldown is fairly high in the early game, engage on him when his W is down as he will have no escape and will be unable to fight you back.

5. Zed vs Malphite

Malphite is one of, if not the best, counter to Zed. Malphite can stack armor to make it impossible for him to kill you. Furthermore, your Passive shield helps with trading and can block incoming damage. Malphite also has to poke with his Q too!

4 tips to counter Zed as Malphite

Keep poking Zed with your Q in this lane. This will prevent him from all-inning you frequently in the lane.
When trying to farm, make sure that you have your Passive shield up. It helps a lot when dealing with someone with ranged poke like Zed.
If Zed tries to all-in you with his Ultimate, counter him immediately with your Ultimate. You can either target him with the knock-up or ult under your own tower to completely ruin Zed’s combo.
Keep the wave on your side of the lane and ask your Jungler to gank you a lot post-six. Also, try to roam to squishier lanes when possible as they can get you some kills.

Conclusion

Picking one of these 5 champions against Zed will indefinitely help you play into him. Avoid squishy champions, and try to pick one of these champions to have a much easier time against him.

For more Zed tips and tricks, check out his champion page on Mobalytics!

If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants’s stream.

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