I have been playing League of Legends for about one year now. I enjoy playing unpopular champions and giving a hard time to the overrated ones. I love reading after match comments like "Zilean, I have no idea how you won your lane, but wp!", "Zilean bombs OP" or "Zilean is broken".

Although I play mostly for fun, I do play ranked games every once in a while, mainly supporting. I made the mistake of starting playing ranked as soon as I got the requirements needed, without having enough experience and understanding to climb up the ladder. Because of that, I got all the way down to Bronze V, as well as my MMR (matchmaking ranking) incredible low, to the point that a victory meant 9 LP while a defeat was -21 LP.

Eventually, I was able to get promoted to Bronze III and recover some of my MMR, most of the games with Sona (win rate above 65%). As playing ranked means waiting from 10min to 20min for a match to start and playing the same champions over and over, I find normals to be more entertaining.

At mid, I also main Orianna, another AP carry that brings utility on her kit.

Teleport Another good pick on Zilean, allowing you to join your team faster or teleport back to defend a turret without spending mana on Time Warp. Joining your team faster is especially important because of Chronoshift power.

NOTICE: Riot Games has announced that Clarity will no longer be available on summoner's rift in season 4.

There will be enemy champions that you will not be able to keep up with them in lane, no matter how good you are. You will either run out of mana or be forced to recall early to recover health. Crystalline Flask would be the direct answer to these lanes, as it replenishes both mana and health.

However, by not starting with Doran's Ring you will abdicate increased starting health and ability power. In spite of staying in lane for longer with Crystalline Flask, you lose lane presence, allowing your enemy to freely farm and harass you.

In those situations you know you will have a tough lane, I recommend you to purchase extra Mana Potions and still start with Doran's Ring. Having enough mana to spam your abilities at will, makes your damage trades even and use your abilities to farm. Remember that, in this case, your concern is not taking kills, but be able to fight evenly for lane dominance.

You have just fought against the enemy team for jungle control and/or helped your jungler with a buff. Now it is time to go to your lane and protect your turret. From level 1, you will want to start placing Time Bombs on the enemy champion. Everytime he comes in range, place a bomb; position yourself where the enemy comes in range whenever he wants to last-hit allied minions. Do not place a Time Bomb in a minion if it is not going to hurt the enemy champion. Harass him nonstop, whenever your Time Bomb is not on cooldown. By doing this, he will be forced to use his potions and play defensive, losing experience and gold from creeps.

When you hit level 2, it is important to get access to Time Warp. Most of the champions don't have a high burst at this level, meaning you can keep harassing them with your Time Bomb and use Time Warp to avoid being caught in early ganks. You can also Time Warp your enemy when your jungler is coming to gank your lane. Time Warp> Time Bomb combo is also useful to deal with faster champions. By level 4, you have access to your Time Bomb> Rewind> Time Bomb combo. However, do not start using it right away. Wait until the enemy is low enough to die from it. If you use it too soon, it will not only cost you a great percentage of your current mana pool, but also let the enemy be aware of your total burst. Do not forget to add Ignite when you are going for a kill.

When you are level 6, things get a little more interesting. You are most likely to be at lower health, because of a gank, harass or because you haven't been to base yet. The enemy might be around 80% of his health and feel confident to dive your turret and kill you. Do not be afraid. Bait him to dive your turret. When he does, Time Warp him, Time Bomb him and Chronoshift yourself. When you come back to life, if not dead, the enemy will be at low health, while you have your health and some mana back to finish him.

As a side note, Zilean is an extremely annoying champion to play against. Use that in your favor to take a psychological advantage over your enemies. I usually taunt the enemy after placing a Time Bomb on them. Zilean's laught is loud and funny. This will upset them, and they will make the silliest mistakes just to get you down.

During laning phase, you want to avoid using Time Bomb to farm. In spite of having a weird animation that makes it difficult to last-hit minions, Zilean's auto-attack range is one of the highests in the game, allowing you to farm safely from distance.

After you get your Fiendish Codex and your Time Bomb on level 4, you can clear the caster minions without any further auto-attack. In order to clean a wave faster, you take the aggro from the melee minions to yourself, place a bomb on a caster and another on a melee minion. Then manipulate the wave so the bomb in the caster minions hit the melee minions and vice-versa.

Because your Time Bomb damages an area, you are likely to have you lane pushed to the enemy tower at some point. When that happens, go back and purchase items or help an allied lane. Zilean's ganks can be very fast: Time Warp your chosen target, double Time Bomb him, and perhaps auto attack twice or three times. This is enough as Zilean, as staying longer means putting you in evidence. Chronoshift can (and should) be used in order to leave the fight with no casualties. Keep an eye on the minimap; whenever your allies are having a hard time, push your lane and help. Use your Time Warp when roaming and ask your jungler to cover your lane if you cannot be back in time.

Now you have got some enemy turrets down while some of yours have also been destroyed. Teams are more likely to stick together and focus on objectives. When a team fight starts your main role is support your team with Time Warp and Chronoshift while damaging the enemies with Time Bomb and slowing them with Time Warp whenever possible. In order to do so, positioning is crucial. You should stay behind your front men, locking down any champion who tries to get to you, your AD carry or another key champion in your team. You should also place Time Bombs as often as you can, without putting you or your fellows in big danger. You can use bushes to your advantage and Time Bomb your initiators or minions so the explosion can get to the enemy. Always remember to carry a Elixir of Brilliance for teamfights. Zilean will greatly benefit from its 10% cooldown reduction and added ability power.

If you did well in the laning phase, helped other lanes to get a kill or two and spammed your laught/taunt properly, bear in mind that you will be focused on team fights. Because of that, you should abuse your Time Warp to bait the enemies. With Elixir of Brilliance, Athene's Unholy Grail and the points you spent in Sorcery, you can have your Time Warp active for as long as you have mana to spend. Run, don't let them catch you! Run towards help, be it an allied champion or a turret. But don't ever chase, unless you are sure you are not being baited. One stun means more stuns are to come and, ironically, you might not have time to use your Chronoshift.

Because of Time Bomb damage and Rewind combo, Zilean can be an excellent lane pusher. However, you have too many utility to split push while your team is fighting. In other words, you must stay with your team. You can, on the other hand, clean a lane pushed against your turrets from enemy minions. Place two or three bombs and make sure you get to your team in time for a teamfight.

Remember to be always using Rewind to have all your skills ready all the time.