Thresh

Very easy matchup, you win all stages of the game, however you do get out-roamed by him, try to follow up on it.

Rakan

Rakan or the ADC can take a bomb, but Rakan wouldn't be able to E into the bomb. You also probably win 2v2s if Rakan goes in. Just make sure to prioritize in getting ADC a double bomb.

Ashe

You get free bombs and slow on her. You can easily engage however she is poke heavy. Not too much of a deal if you have some sustain.

Braum

This one may seem a little weird, but Zilean's bomb goes through his shield. Just like Rakan if he takes a bomb, he can't go to his ally but he can shield himself allowing it to go on cooldown. Therefore you can actually just win 2v2.

Aphelios

I feel like if this champion becomes slowed it's over for Aphelios. He doesn't really have an escape so picking him out in teamfights is really good. Laning phase I find it very easy to land combos on him because he doesn't have any mobility.

Gragas

Gragas is a very easy matchup, especially for a dash champion. You can trade very easily with just autos alone and punish him for any of his mistakes.

Ziggs

Zilean is just the superior bomber. His only escape tool is his W and you win any trade against him. You counter his late game potential with your ultimate.

Ryze

His late game may seem a little scary, but you can easily win against his early game with the right sustain and trading.

Nami

Nami is a very squishy champion, one of the only enchanters you actually should be able to win against. I feel like she just becomes so useless during the later game once she's behind.

Lux

This may seem like a hard matchup at first glance, but it really isn't. What I like doing is baiting Lux and her ADC to come up by Lux rooting Zilean or the ADC. You know that both the ADC and Lux will walk up and you can land your double bomb as easy as that. You also have to be fast enough to ulti and know her damage.

Miss Fortune

I just found this matchup really easy, you can even shut her down easily late game.

Draven

Only a good Draven would win this lane. But just bomb where he's gonna pick up his axes for the free poke or stun.

Veigar

Zyra

Xayah

Kog'Maw

Xerath

SKILL MATCHUP I personally hate this matchup because of the poke he dishes out like every 4 seconds. Once your out of ultimate your just dead.

Pyke

SKILL MATCHUP You usually would lose pre 6 here, but once your 6 just ulti his ulti. It's a rough laning phase but it gets way better. If the Pyke gets fed he's gonna fall off anyways.

Soraka

This isn't hard once you get anti-heal, her E can counter your ultimate though, but if she ever gets in the range of doing that just punish her for it if possible.

Vel'Koz

This is a really annoying matchup if you struggle at dodging.

Brand

Karma

Seraphine

Once you get anti-heal this matchup is made easy. Her ultimate may be a problem though and her poke but in personal experience I tend to win this matchup.

Bard

Twitch

Katarina

SKILL MATCHUP If the Katarina is good, you will lose. However Katarina struggles in the early game and once Katarina is done trading, I suprisingly found out that you can out trade her simply with just autos. Have sustain this lane so withstand her damage.

Pantheon

SKILL MATCHUP You can double bomb on the circle of where he's gonna land on his ultimate. This depends on how well you play micro (Moving your cursor). Only hard part of this lane is his E. Anyways you can keep a safe distance while bombing. Your E distance is the same as his W however you can get your E off so he doesn't W. (Credit to TheDisconnect)

Gangplank

Honestly this is a skill matchup, and I played Gangplank for some time so I would know where he would barrel. He has some amazing outplay potential though and can barrel and ultimate (death's daughter) your ultimate on somebody.

Viktor

Alistar

I think this is just on how good the Alistar is, you can still win this matchup but once he's 6 you start losing. You probably would get out-roamed too.

Blitzcrank

Just not a fun time for Zilean. Would recommend going the Guardian rune-page.

Leona

Not a fun champion to go against. If you miss a bomb it allows her to easily go in. I would recommend getting Mikael's against her.

Yuumi

The heal which counters your bombs damage. I recommend going utility build and getting a chemtech. Laning phase however is not so bad because you only need to land a double bomb on one person. Once it's late game she's probably gonna stick onto a carry and you can't do anything about it, just pray that your anti-heal works.

Orianna

Insanely annoying poke.

Kai'Sa

Jhin

Jinx

Taric

In my opinion it depends on what ADC the Taric has. His ultimate counters you completely and can negate bomb damage, so I would recommend going utility build. He also gives a free shield to someone if you throw out a bomb.

Swain

You get out damaged by Swain and he's pretty annoying to go up against in both Mid and Support.

Quinn

Shaco

With incoming patch 11.11 AP Shaco nerfs, his support playstyle is gonna be slightly better for you. But if it's AD Shaco in the jungle you have to be pretty fast with your Ultimate. Your Q is able to reveal him when he is in Q.

Yone

In my opinion, this is a really doable matchup. Depending on how good your able to land your bombs, you can actually win this lane. Be fast enough to ultimate yourself if he ultimate's you.

Zed

Just get seekers, it's not that bad if you actually have played some Zed before. The laning phase is pretty easy unless the Zed knows what he's doing.

Malzahar

A very annoying matchup because of his ability to poke. His passive also counters you and you won't be able to double bomb him initially. However you can once you get it back so I recommend getting Ability Haste ASAP.

Neeko

One of the actual mage champions that can out trade you. I found out recently that if you just ultimate somebody you get Neeko ulted a second after and die instantly. Her W passive is very annoying when trading against her. I recommend just poking her to death and see if jungler is willing to come.

Yasuo

WOULD RECOMMENDED BANNING FOR MID Has so many dashes and has a wind-wall, counters your kit completely

Samira

WOULD RECOMMEND BANNING FOR ADC Literally Yasuo but an ADC that can Insta your team. If anything go locket build. Would also recommend to ban. If I had to say anything in winning this lane, in lower elos some Samira's would W whenever you E, but some Samira's would dash once you throw out your Q at your initial place.

Caitlyn

She has a dash and most likely will get gale-force making her get another dash. Laning phase is pretty rough. I would recommend to predict her E if possible. Once you get an ultimate on yourself or someone else she just places a trap under the stasis and get a free headshot.

Rell

A pretty hard engage support to play against, if you throw out a bomb she immediately punishes you for it by going in. She just has the better team-fight. If you don't get caught up in her Ultimate, the entire team is gonna walk up to her so you can land a double bomb for free on there entire team. Still that opportunity is pretty rare. You can poke her a lot in lane though.

Sivir

Spellshield. She is also really good in the meta now.

Lulu

Shield.

Sett

I see so many people say this lane is easy, but everytime I go against Sett it's always a bad time. If you ultimate somebody Sett can easily insec or time his w on the person. He can run you down in lane too. Honestly just get shurelyas and max e first if you wanna counter him, just not a fun early game.

Morgana

Also has a spell shield that counters your double bomb.

Ezreal

Very annoying dash and can actually burst you down if your not careful.

Lucian

Same thing as Ezreal.

Tristana

Same thing as Ezreal and Lucian. Look if you wanna win against these very hard champions, just pray for mid-late game. Also predict there dash.

Vayne

She can go invisible dash around and deal unexpected damage. I had times where I didn't know Vayne was gonna pop someone and didn't ult.

Janna

I think this is self-explanatory at this point. Her E can counter your bombs in all stages of the game. She is a pretty squishy champion though.

Akali

Almost every assassin just counters you. Whether this is out-damaging you or out-roaming it's just not a fun time. If she lands a E on you try to get a bomb on yourself and another bomb placed on top of yourself to stun her if she tries to E you. Laning phase you can poke her out easily though and just know the range of her Q, once she throws a Q at a minion land a bomb.

LeBlanc

Besides Yasuo, the worst match-up for Zilean in my opinion. She has dashes that she can go back to anytime which makes it very hard land anything. Not to mention that late game. You would usually just get zoned out of lane and if you walk up you get one shot pre 6. It's very hard to outrun her E with your E.

Kassadin

Honestly, this is a very opinion based match-up. It depends on how well you play but once he's level 16 you just start to lose. You can bully him out of lane and I recommend taking Aggressive 2 runes. He also has a dash which is pretty hard to overcome.

Irelia

She has the entire wave to dash, sort of like Yasuo. Her W can decrease the only damaging ability of your kit and can level 2 you easily. Nothing else to say here. Once it becomes late game you can slow her down in a safe distance and have your team kill her.

Diana

If you miss a bomb she punishes you instantly. Once Diana is 6 she can pop you instantly as well, of course this involves Diana getting deep into your side of the lane so have a jungler come help.

Sylas

This is another really bad Zilean match-up. Sylas has a free GA Ultimate for his team while you struggle in lane just because of his aggressive trading.

Fizz

Pray once your 6.

Qiyana

Her damage output is crazy and since not that many people play her, it's so unexpected. Try to R if she has ultimate up and she appears out of nowhere.

Talon

Out-roams you easily, can burst you down easily. If you miss a bomb you get punished.