This guide is under construction. In particular, a Gameplay section will be added soon.

Feel free to add me on NA, IGN: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH. That is 10 A's, 6 H's.
(Note that Miracle Matter is my Splitpush Zilean smurf, but AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH is my main account now) to discuss the build, or otherwise play together, in the meantime.

space Hello! I am BazopBoomGumboChops. My Splitpush Zilean smurf is Miracle Matter. I designed the Splitpush Zilean playstyle as a prototype in late 2015. Since then, I've obtained Diamond with variants of it 3 seasons in a row. This is not a goofy, low-ELO-only trollbuild. This is designed to be a truly, monstrously strong playstyle, both in low and high ELOs. I do not currently stream, but feel free to follow the stream (below) if you'd like to see the playstyle live when I begin!

Technique one -- the instantaneous double-bomb.
When you double bomb a target low enough health to die to a single bomb's detonation, the target dies, instantly and simultaneously detonating the second bomb alongside it. Play Video


Technique two -- threading the nexus.

Self-explanatory.
Play Video


Highlight - 1v3 (Or two 1v2's?)
Play Video

There are 3 core strengths underlying the Splitpush Zilean playstyle.

space 1) Zilean has many anti-melee tools, including reliable harass, slows/a stun for self-peel/escapes, and fantastic waveclear. 2) Zilean becomes incredibly fast, and thus hard to catch, mid-late game. (and can bring himself back to life.) 3) Zilean has such low cooldowns that he can proc Lich Bane off cooldown. (every 1.5s) Abuse these to your advantage. Zilean can harass, zone, and shove melee champions under tower early, and then transition into being an ultra-fast, surprisingly strong duelist, tower-shredding monster mid-late game.

space Generally, you want to use Kleptomancy, which simply requires slipping in autos when possible after throwing bombs. Do not waste an excessive amount of mana early on just to proc Klepto. Try to just weave the autos in after throwing single bombs to poke with. However, in some matchups, you won't be able to safely/reliably proc Klepto (i.e. vs Irelia), and then the value of swapping to TP and Exhaust become significant. For these matchups, we must know how to use Unsealed Spellbook.

Start with Ignite. Only eat biscuits when you run out of mana (or are at risk of dying.)
These two together give you enough mana to have kill threat before your first back.

All you need to do is keep poking with singular bombs (do not waste mana on rewind early) every time they walk forward to cs. Once they're low enough, Flash+Ignite for the kill.

Whether you get the first kill or not, your first swap becomes available at minute 6:00; swap to Teleport.
Recall, buy a Tear of the Goddess (+ either an amplifying tome or a cloth armor if your lane opponent is threatening), and teleport back to lane.

Now you want to cycle Summoner Spells as often as possible to re-obtain your Teleport swap as soon as possible. Here are your best swaps until then.

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space Exhaust Exhaust is usually best. Hang onto it until you're engaged on, and simply nullify their burst. Also helps for setting up ganks. Smite Smite is an easy spell to swap to and use quickly. Don't feel bad about using it to secure a Scuttle Crab, but I generally only swap to it if I believe my jungler is going to come secure Rift Herald with me early. Clarity You rarely need the mana sustain with this build, due to Biscuits + Archangel's Staff, but Clarity can be useful early if you want to stay longer to stack tear, get a kill, or shove a wave in. It's another summoner spell you can easily swap to and consume immediately to lower your Unsealed Spellbook cooldown.

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"Time tick, ticks away." - ̶O̶r̶i̶a̶n̶n̶a̶ - Zilean
Masterpiece by Kashuse

The first, most important thing to understand is to understand how to self-cast abilities.
The default keybind (and my own) is to hold down Alt while casting an ability. The importance of this CANNOT BE OVERSTATED -- playing without using self-casting on Splitpush Zilean is like playing a marksman without right-clicking.

By holding down Alt with your thumb, any casts of your E or R will automatically apply to yourself. In this way, you avoid ever having to point your mouse at yourself to ult yourself in emergencies -- simply press Alt + R -- and you can chain-speed yourself around the map comfortably, simply alternating Alt + E and W. Now you're cruising at a relaxing pace, without having to spasm your mouse between yourself and your opponent.

General Strategy

Come early-mid game, around the time you're finishing Archangel's Staff, you should be shoving your lane opponent under turret and harassing them when they farm until they're forced to recall. Now is your chance to safely proc Demolish. Never greed for the Demolish proc if the enemy is right there -- it'll often cost you your life. Wait until there are no enemies around.

Once you have your Sheen and Zz'Rot portal, you absolutely must begin asking your team to pressure X objective 'as 4' while you backdoor the OPPOSITE side of the map.
The most reliable way of doing this, in my experience, is by simply saying "Believe in me" or "Have faith in me." This wins over peoples' good side, and encourages them to group 4 on an objective and give you a chance to demonstrate the splitpushing, backdooring power of Zilean.

The key here is that you win no matter what.
Most toplaners will be unable to 1v1 you. As a result, they'll need to send at least 2+ people back to stop your splitpush, as if you were a Tryndamere. However, doing so will cos them the Baron (or Dragon) your team is taking as 4.
Alternatively, they may ignore you and send 5 to beat your team 5v4. This is fine. Let them lose; your job is to make their sacrifices worth it. Siege as hard as you can while the enemy team is distracted. Drop Zz'Rot outside of tower range, but hover it to MAKE SURE it's close enough to reach at least 2 objectives (i.e. the inner and inhib turret, or the inhib turret and the inhibitor itself.) Zz'Rot voidlings don't travel very far anymore, so check the range before placing it.

There will be games where you cannot 1v1 your opposing toplaner, or otherwise your team is feeding so horrendously that they need you to come save them. This is fine. Abandon the Splitpush and come team fight. Don't save your ulti for your carries -- use it to make aggressive plays on the enemy team. I often run in, slow and stun an enemy carry while their team blows me up. However, I revive myself while my team follows up on my stun, killing the enemy carry, and then I revive into a winning 5v4. Zilean is a monstrously effective teamfighter, even with Zz'Rot portal and Sheen. Don't assume that you have to splitpush just because you built for it -- be flexible when your team needs you.

Lastly, be a shotcaller. You aren't just a lone wolf splitpusher, you are the macro master of strategy. You are making openings for your team to take Barons and dragons. You are speeding up your jungler to get to the objective quickly. You are asking your support to keep the river warded. (Seriously, the river controls all key objectives and, really, the entire game. Stop warding your own jungle; ward the river, and watch your rank climb.)

I've tried to keep the guide somewhat concise so that you can grab it and give it a go without worrying too much about little details. That said, once you start playing it, you'll begin to realize the playstyle has surprising depth!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here, or otherwise add me (IGN: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH -- 10 A's, 6 H's) and tell me about your experience!

Thanks for reading -- now go demolish the ranks (and some towers) as Zilean!