Slayer · Mid · Jungle

Zed counters, build & runes

Zed, the Master of Shadows, is a slayer mostly played in Mid and Jungle. In Mid it has a 49.7% win rate in patch 16.19 and sits in tier S. It excels at burst damage, mobility and picking off targets and is strongest in the mid game.

Patch 16.19 · SoloQ

Mid75%

Jungle25%

STier

49.7%Win rate

8.2%Pick rate

24.5%Ban rate

#12Rank · Mid

162,657Games

Zed Mid most played build

Runes54% of games · 51.4% WR

First Strike · Cash Back · Triple Tonic · Jack Of All Trades
Legend: Haste · Cut Down

Summoner spells49.6% WR

Flash

Ignite

Skill order39% of games · 55.5% WR

QEW

Levels 1 to 3: Q · E · W

Starting items47% of games · 50.5% WR

Doran's Blade

Health Potion

Core build11% of games · 54.4% WR

Voltaic Cyclosword

Bastionbreaker

Serylda's Grudge

Boots64% of games · 50.6% WR

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

Zed Mid counters

Zed's win rate in the lane matchup

Struggles against

Nasus45.1%1,673
Malphite45.6%2,155
Ekko47.4%3,412
Vex47.5%1,894
Akshan47.8%1,364
Xerath47.9%2,529

Beats

Ryze58.5%1,447
Mel56.1%1,056
Veigar53.6%1,895
Kassadin53.5%1,298
Orianna52.8%1,655
Galio51.9%1,765

DTier

47.2%Win rate

2.7%Pick rate

24.3%Ban rate

#52Rank · Jungle

52,957Games

Zed Jungle most played build

Runes64% of games · 48.7% WR

First Strike · Cash Back · Triple Tonic · Cosmic Insight
Sudden Impact · Treasure Hunter

Summoner spells47.2% WR

Flash

Smite

Skill order47% of games · 53.2% WR

QEW

Levels 1 to 3: Q · E · W

Starting items46% of games · 47.0% WR

Scorchclaw Pup

Health Potion

Core build12% of games · 54.1% WR

Voltaic Cyclosword

Bastionbreaker

Axiom Arc

Boots77% of games · 47.3% WR

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

Jungle path

Starting on redBlueGrompWolvesRaptorsRedKrugs

Starting on blueBlueGrompWolvesRaptorsRedKrugs

Zed Jungle counters

Zed's win rate in the lane matchup

Struggles against

Sejuani42.5%459
Rammus43.0%416
Master Yi43.1%1,369
Warwick44.3%580
Xin Zhao44.3%370
Quinn44.8%270

Beats

Zac51.6%529
Elise50.1%746

Champion profile

Burst damage5
Sustained damage1
Durability0
Crowd control1
Mobility5
Engage1
Peel0
Poke2

0 to 5 attributes from HeroCoach's Fuente 1 profile, rated from the champion kit and Emerald+ stats.

Power curve

Early

Mid

Late

Game plan

Picking off targets

Excels at

Picking off targets
Diving

Struggles against

hard crowd control
poke

Frequently asked questions

Who counters Zed in Mid?

In patch 16.19, the hardest lane opponents for Zed in Mid are Nasus (45.1%), Malphite (45.6%) and Ekko (47.4%). In brackets, Zed's win rate in that matchup.

Who is Zed strong against?

In Mid, Zed wins most often against Ryze (58.5%), Mel (56.1%) and Veigar (53.6%).

What is the best Zed build in Mid?

The core Zed build in Mid is Voltaic Cyclosword, Bastionbreaker and Serylda's Grudge. Keystone: First Strike, with Precision as the secondary tree. Skill order: Q > E > W.

Is Zed good in patch 16.19?

It is tier S in Mid (rank 12), with a 49.7% win rate, 8.2% pick rate and 24.5% ban rate in SoloQ.

Bring this into champion select

HeroCoach suggests picks based on the draft, tells you who to ban and applies runes and spells in the client. Free for Windows and Mac.

Download for Windows Download for Mac

Global SoloQ stats for patch 16.19. Updated October 4, 2026.