Zed is the first ninja in 200 years to unlock the ancient, forbidden ways. He defied his clan and master, casting off the balance and discipline that had shackled him all his life. Zed now offers power to those who embrace knowledge of the shadows, and slays those who cling to ignorance.

An orphan, Zed was taken in and trained by a great ninja master. Only one other student appeared to be Zed's equal - the master's son, Shen. It seemed Zed could never win the favor of the master, as every match between the rivals ended in a draw. Frustrated and jealous, he sought an advantage. The young ninja ventured into a sealed part of the clan's temple, where he found an ornate, foreboding box. Sensing the dark knowledge within, Zed knew he should not open it, but he peered inside nonetheless. In an instant, shadows touched his mind, revealing techniques that had long been hidden. Now armed with a secret edge, he challenged Shen, and this time he defeated the master's son. He expected praise and recognition in his moment of victory, but somehow the master knew Zed had used forbidden ways, and banished him.

Humiliated, the young ninja wandered for years. His bitterness turned to ambition, and he began to train others in the style of the shadows. As his power grew, so did his circle of followers, but he knew that without the box, his technique would never be perfect. One day, Zed looked at his followers and saw that his students were now an army. He led them back to the temple to claim his prize. At the gates, he was surprised to find the old master waiting, receiving Zed and his disciples as if they were welcome guests. The old man laid his sword at Zed's feet, declaring that he had failed Zed as his master. By banishing his former student, the master had doomed Zed to the shadows, instead of leading him to the balanced path. The old man implored Zed to enter the temple, destroy the box, and lead his followers to balance. The dark ninja followed the master inside. Moments later, the assembled ninjas heard Zed cry out in pain. Mysteriously, he emerged unscathed, and threw the severed head of the master at Shen's feet. Screaming in rage, Zed commanded his followers to slaughter the master's students and seize the box.

That day, the old ninja order fell. Though many students died, some escaped thanks to Shen's heroic efforts. Now the temple is a dark training ground for the Order of the Shadow. Zed rules as the Order's master, and his edict is simple: perfect one's technique, and kill all ninjas who refuse to embrace the shadows.

"Balance is a lie - we are the true ninjas."
― Zed

Here is a wonderful video on Zed.

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Zed build guide!!! My name is C4KE. I am a Level 30 summoner, and as such, I have been recently playing our good friend here Zed. Zed is crazy if you know how to play him right, and if done correctly, you will be scoring those pentakills all over the place! I'm going to be very blunt with you guys, and as such I will try to keep the guide as simple as possible to understand, but I will make sure that after you finish this guide, you WILL BE A BETTER Zed PLAYER. Let's begin the magical journey through this guide, HOW TO KILL CARRIES!!!-An in depth Zed guide.

NOTE:
DO NOT TROLL DOWNVOTE THIS GUIDE. IF YOU HAVE BEEF WITH MY GUIDE, PLEASE ADD A COMMENT ANSWERING WHY YOU DON'T LIKE THIS GUIDE. ANY TIPS ARE APPRECTIATED!! REMEMBER TO COMMENT ON THIS GUIDE, IT HELPS ME IF I KNOW WHAT TO FIX.

Great Spells

Flash: This spell is very useful on basically every single champion you play. I would highly recommend this. This is basically your get out of jail free card.

Ghost: An amazing spell on Zed I sometimes get this over Flash, because it helps me kill the carries faster.

Ignite: This is an amazing finisher spell. I would also recommend taking this. You can also use this on champions with High Health regeneration, such as Dr. Mundo or Warwick.

Exhaust: Another great spell. Slows target champion, as well as taking down their attack speed. If you have the improved, it takes down their defenses. Either take this or ignite. Whichever you prefer.

Smite: This is THE spell to take when jungling. if you don't have it for Zed, you WILL NOT jungle well. Period.

Zed's Skills

Contempt for the Weak

Razor Shuriken

When to max this

When to use this

Living Shadow

When to max this

I get an early point in this, then I save it for last. You can make the cooldown on this spell go down a TON by spamming Shadow Slash.

When to use this

Shadow Slash:

When to max this:

When to use this:

Death Mark:

When to Max this

When to use Death Mark:

Starting Items

: Just your standard starting items. If you aren't confident with another type of starting item, this is the way to go.

OR

: I normally take this item since they lowered long sword down to 400, so we can get two pots now instead of one. The long sword is also amazing. Why? Because the attack damage from the long sword is needed, which allows you to poke the enemy champion for more, allowing you to win the lane.

OR

: This is another option for you to take. Mostly I take this against heavy AD/Poke Champions, Such as Lee Sin or Riven.

Mid-Game Items

These items are very important to get. They provide all the stats that you need, as well as giving you some nice extra abilities. I normally build a doran's blade or two depending on my lane, then I rush Phage immediately. The slow is VITAL to finishing off people.

Core Items

These are your three main Core items. These are the MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS. Like Riven, you need to try to get Guardian Angel as quickly as possible.

Pick a Few of These Depending on the game.

Offensive Items

When to get this:Again, this is another good tankbuster item. This has 40% ARMOR PENETRATION. This will definitely destroy everything that opposes you.

When to get this:I normally don't take this quite often. However, this is a pretty situational item, but nonetheless, good. The magic resist it gives is gives is amazing, as well as the shield, but, Mercurial Scimitar has better stats that we need, so i would rather get that instead.

When to get this:This Item is amazing. The extra attack damage will help SO MUCH. I generally take this item in 50% of the games I play. It is a very nice item, and definitely helps.

When to get this:I have been taking this item quite often in my games. The stats that it provides is great. You don't need the Mana or Ability Power, but sheen is one of the main reasons to get this. I generally take this in most games, but the reason it is here and not core is because of Frozen Mallet. Although, you do get the HP and attack from it. If you are going to get this though, don't get Frozen Mallet. It is either one or the other.

When to get this: Yes. I know. We already have one of these. Why do we need another? Well, this is going to give you a TON more attack damage, as well as life steal. Getting another is great, although for the most part, I don't get another too much. You are not Talon, You actually need to auto attack.

When to get this: This is an amazing item. I normally get this item every game, because of the amazing stats it gives.

This is a pretty beasty item. Although I don't get this often, it is a very good item. If you prefer it though, by all means get it, but I really don't see it as a totally needed item on Zed

Defensive Items

When to get this: Okay. This item. Is. AMAZING. I have been getting this REGULARLY in my games. It is absolutely amazing because of the cleanse, plus you get some ad and some MR. I would highly recommend this!

When to get this:When I take this Item, I generally get Atmas Impaler as well. But, this item does give some very nice sltats, so it is definitely a consideration. I generally take this item when I have to pay the role of tank, or Off-tank(along with atmas as well).

When to get this:This item and Warmogs armor are like two peas in a pod. As mentioned above, I don't take this without Warmogs for the most part

When to get this:Amazing Slow, defense, and some other nice stats make this item a very nice option. I generally take this when my team needs some more tank, and some CC. It is a very good item to consider.

When to get this:Now, I Don't take this item too often, but when I do, its because of a Hyper fed Ap carry. Generally you don't need this, but, I would definitely consider if the enemies AP carry, such as LeBlanc is extremely fed and is destroying your team. It will render her spells on you virtually useless at the moment.

OK. It's season three now. Bork has been buffed. Why do I get Blade of the Ruined King now and not Bloodthirster? Honestly, I LOVE Bork a ton now. It gives us so many amazing things, and they are things we will use well. When you use your combo's, you are GOING to auto a little bit. This will give you the extra uuumph that you need to finish off high armor targets. Use the passive before you go in, and you will not be sorry. This item works so well on Zed, I would argue to get it EVERY GAME!

SPACESPACESPACE

HUGE HUGE HUGE role in any teamfight! Your only objective is to kill the carries. AT ALL COSTS KILL THE CARRIES. If you kill even at least the ADC, your team is on its way to winning the teamfight, which in turn, could end up in you winning the game. Basically this is how you have to kill in game: If you are mid lane, SHUT DOWN THE AP CARRY. Easier said then done, right? If you do manage to stay alive after your quick kill, KILL ALL A DEM! Whoever is doing the most damage after the carry you killed, KILL THEM!


because their adc could be MEGA fed, then in that case you would kill him. During late game, ALWAYS kill the ADC at ALL COSTS!!! If you even just kill him, your life is not in vain. We have won quite a few games with the enemy carry(s) being super fed. That carries life is in your hands, so take it. EVEN THE FED CARRIES CANNOT STAND A CHANCE AGAINST YOU. In these cases especially where the carry is fed, you can still win those games with Zed!

TL;DR: KILL CARRIES AT ALL COSTS DURING TEAMFIGHTS! EVERY CARRY WILL FEAR YOU!

NOTE: DO NOT INITIATE!!!!! IF YOU DO, YOU WILL DIE!

Early Game Combo's: I normally max Razor Shuriken first, and as such, I will take the opponent's health down to about half hp by the time I am level 6. Then once they are at half health, and I am level 6, and have FULL ENERGY, I normally tend to jump on the enemy, and proceed to own their face. The combo I use is R<E<Q< Ignite<E and they will be dead, if you got them to at least half hp. Then you really can start picking up kills once you pick up the first one.

Thank you for reading this guide!! If you liked it, feel free to leave a comment and upvote. If you didn't like it, go ahead and downvote it! Thank you once again for taking the time to read this! Once again, Remember to comment, it helps me improve. :)