I'm Keekdood78 on League, and I'm Silver V in season 8. I recently joined in season 6, so I'm still grasping on the tactics of League, but I think that I'm definitely skilled in some areas of the game; mainly Mid, Support, and ADC. I'd say my 4 mains are Lux, Miss Fortune, Sona, and Brand, as they are the champions that I started and played with since I started the game, and continue to play. I'm Mastery 7 with Lux and 6 with MF, and on the way with Sona and Brand. I hope soon to be able to jump up to Gold and have a higher mastery with my mains. Also, I hopefully want to expand my roster of mains, as I do play other characters, but not as much. The guides that I make are intended for all (mainly new or low ELO players), and don’t go into too much depth, but give information and playstyle to encourage you to try the character.

Zilean has been in and out of the meta quite a few times now. He has a bit of a low pick rate in Low ELO (as some think he is very hard to master), but his win rates are off the charts right now, and he is at his prime in Season 8. He is a mage that is a hybrid of dealing burst damage and being a key asset to supporting his team. He excels in helping teammates push or retreat, whilst being able to 1v1 as well. I personally like him because he can play in most lanes by himself (as a mid laner) or can be used as a support. His combos are the key to his success, which can be a downfall for him, but nonetheless he can be great at carrying.

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE PLAYSTYLE/TEAMPLAY TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO COMBO WITH HIS SPELLS.

+ Medium-high burst of magic damage that can be dealt repeatedly over a long amount of time
+ Can be used as a mid laner or support
+ His combos are the main style of his kit, and are very powerful
+ Can be played both long and short range (explained in Moveset and Playstyle/Teamplay)
+ Has a mobility/escape option


- His overall damage is mainly from his combos, so without them he cannot attack
- To deal consistent damage, you must near-to-always land your combos
- Uses up mana quite quickly in not careful

I take FLASH because nearly all champions need flash. With Zilean, as you have a mobility/escape option, you can use it offensively (to land combos), or defensively (to escape).

With Zilean, you can pick which second summoner spell you would like, depending on your playstyle. For me, I like to take IGNITE, because I like to play Zilean very offensively to farm and poke, to pressure the other mid laner to back to fountain. Sometimes I take EXHAUST (if I play support as well), but his E slows his target down anyway, so I don’t think it is essential.

Zilean’s passive is very useful to his allies when he plays the role of support. With every second passing, he stores it as experience throughout the game. When he has enough experience to finish off an ally’s level, he can right-click them to give them the experience, and both of them gain the experience. This cannot be cast on himself, so when you have lots of experience stored, make sure you give it to an ally, as you will get the experience as well.

His Q tosses a time bomb that detonates after a few seconds (and is shown visually). It deals magical AoE damage, and can latch onto enemies or minions (prioritises enemies). If you toss 2 time bombs at the same target, one of them will detonate early, and stun all the targets within the radius for a few seconds. This should be maxed first, as this is where Zilean deals his damage.

His W reduces the cooldowns of his Q and E by 10 seconds. Simple. This should be maxed second, so that you can keep on reusing it over and over again to combo with his Q. AGAIN, CHECK OUT PLAYSTYLE/TEAMPLAY TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO COMBO WITH HIS SPELLS.

His E is a soft CC that either reduces the movement speed of an enemy champ or increases an ally’s movement speed. This should be maxed last, as the first level of it increases/decreases the movement speed by around 40%, so it’s fine as it is.

His R casts a protective rune on himself or an ally, that revives the target after a brief delay when taking lethal damage. The rune lasts for 5 seconds, so be sure to cast it correctly and in time (not too early or too late).

Sorcery is the main rune path that I use with Zilean, as he is a mage. For the main rune, I take Arcane Comet, so I can poke easily. IF YOU ARE PLAYING ZILEAN AS A SUPPORT, THEN TAKE SUMMON AERY. Manaflow Band is at it’s strongest right now, and is effective to create a bigger mana pool for Zilean, as he runs out of mana quickly. Transcendence is useful due to the CDR and the excess CDR being turned into AP, but you can also take Celerity, as the bonus movement speed from his E gives him extra AP when being offensive. Gathering Storm is useful because it gives you a bit of an advantage in the late game, as Zilean excels in the early and late game.

MID
The Inspiration section is useful in my opinion, as the extra CDR from Cosmic Insight is helpful, and the Biscuit Delivery just makes you stay in lane longer, so you are able to poke more without worrying about running out of mana.

SUPPORT
You can take Inspiration as the secondary rune (like above), but you can also take Resolve, and take Chrysalis and Font of Life. This is so that he can sustain in lane longer.

I don’t recommend using other rune paths. Precision isn’t that useful, as the extra attack speed won’t be needed (Zilean is a spell-user), and Domination isn’t suitable for Zilean in my opinion.

For Mid Lane:
- Rush Luden's Echo and Sorcerer's Shoes, as these will give you lots of poke potential in
the mid game, and a bit more mana sustain (Ionian Boots can be bought instead, it comes
down to preference)
- Buy Banshee's Veil if against AP, and Zhonya's Hourglass if against AD. Then buy
Morellonomicon for extra poke and sustain
- End with Rabadon's Deathcap, to finish off your poke build

For Support:
- Instead, start and rush Eye of the Watchers and Ionian Boots
- The buy Archangel's Staff for mana sustain
- Buy Redemption and Locket of the Iron Solari for sustain and team healing
- End with Spellbinder to add a bit of damage to your build

Zilean isn’t difficult as he may seem; the only thing is that he is combo-reliant. Now, to combo:
1) Land a Q on the enemy
2) Use your W to refresh your Q
3) Land your Q again within 2 seconds
4) Your opponent is now stunned for 1.5 seconds
It’s easy as that. Then, you can use your E to speed up to the enemy, to slow them down from escaping, or to run away. Keep on doing this consistently and you will force them out of lane very quickly at level 3.

In teamfights, your job is to protect your allies AND do damage with your combos. You must try to stun a few champs on the enemy team whilst keeping your teammates safe. Your R is what saves lives, so be sure to keep on the look out if anyone is going to die on your team.

TIP: Sometimes, you mess up your R, and that’s fine. Just make sure that you don’t endanger yourself, because even though you have a mobility option, being cocky can backfire.