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Bard is a pretty easy lane for Zilean, so as long as you ping out his roams and your teammates don't die to them you should be fine.
Blitzcrank
Can potentially be very scary to deal with if you make even a minor mistake. If he ever misses a hook you need to punish by trying to force a fight if possible.
Ashe
I never have a hard time with ashe, especially after laning phase. Your massive speed ups + shurelyas more than make up for her slows
Alistar
His level 3 - 5 can be very scary, you will have to play very safe in lane. After you hit 6 he is a pretty easy champ to deal with
Braum
This is one of the easiest matchups for Zilean. His shield is basically useless into Zilean which makes laning easy and you outscale him
Xerath
I used to absolutely hate playing into this champ because of how annoying he is in lane. However, after lane I feel like this champ is just so easy to deal with. If you ever get in range to slow + double bomb, your team should be able to follow up and just kill him
Brand
Brand is somewhat similar to Xerath, but he has the potential to do a lot of damage to your entire team before you kill him. Just try to slow + double bomb and it should be a kill
Caitlyn
Very hard to survive laning phase vs this champ, and her ability to trap right below where your ulted target dies makes this champ quite hard to deal with. You will never be in range to slow her in fights, so just hope that your team can take care of her
Draven
Throw bombs where his axes land. If he ever tries to fight you, insta exhaust, slow, and double bomb him. As long as Draven does not get out of hand is not too dangerous for Zilean
Ezreal
One of my most hated champs to play against. He is very hard to lock down because of his E. This is my personal ban because of how high his pickrate is and how annoying he is
Janna
Not too hard of a matchup, her high movement speed is no problem for you with your E. She is immobile, so if she ever oversteps she should just die
Karma
She is significantly stronger than you in lane, you basically just have to sit back and do nothing. After 6 the matchup is playable, if you ever hit a double bomb hard engage on her with your adc.
Morgana
Not a hard lane at all, unless you get hit by a bind. Her spellshield is somewhat annoying, but 2v2s are not hard at all vs this champ.
Lux
Similar to morgana, she is not really a problem unless she hits a Q. If she ever walks in E range, you should be able to hopefully burn flash or kill her
Lulu
Laning phase is not a problem vs this champ, but she will outscale you. If you land a double bomb on her or her adc, you should try to burst them down.
Leona
Extremely dangerous to play vs in lane, if she ever hits an E on you or your ADC prepare for the all in. I go with guardian and unflinching her engage is a little weaker and you may be able to turn on the enemy adc
Nami
Feel like this champ is borderline useless. She is only slightly better in lane, and post 6 you just hard win every fight.
Nautilus
Slightly easier to deal with than Blitzcrank becuase he doesn't have a silence, but you still have to respect him in lane. If the enemy wave is pushing and your minions are about to die, just run back to your next wave.
Pyke
Extremely hard to deal with in lane. If he ever engages you just have to run and hopefully dodge the hook. If you manage to time your R with his R, you can make him pretty useless in teamfights because his R cooldown will not reset
Samira
Makes your life miserable. Her shield completely ruins your double bomb. Never fight 2v2 vs this champ, just try to scale and hope that she doesn't pop off in fights
Rakan
This matchup is not hard at all for Zilean. If he ever goes in, you can use your E / Shurelya to make his engage useless.
Rell
Similar to Leona, but more slightly more manageable. As long as she doesn't hit her full combo on both you and your ADC, you should be able to win every fight post 6
Senna
She outranges you in lane and also scales very well. Your time to shine is in the midgame. She is very hard to get on in fights due to her range, try to use your E's on teammates and Shurelyas so that they can hopefully reach her
Seraphine
Pretty easy matchup all around. If she ever has flash down, you should try to engage on her. If you ever get the E + double bomb in lane she should die
Olaf
Probably the best champ in the game with Zilean, his ability to be immune to cc combined with your insane speed ups allow him to dive the enemy backline with almost no counterplay and survive with your ult
Master Yi
Similar situation to Olaf, but cc can be dangerous. If he gets hit by hard cc insta ult because he will get bursted immediately
Darius
One of my favorite champs to have on my team with Zil. Darius struggles with getting kited, but with your speed ups he has no trouble getting onto the targets he needs to
Aphelios
Aphelios's main weakness is his complete lack of mobility, but you make up for this with your E. He has the chance to completely 1v5 fights, just peel for him and he will carry
Draven
My favorite ADC to play with, he completely carries you through lane and if you perma speed him up he will destroy the enemy team
Jhin
Your slows and double bombs set up his W nicely. Whenever Jhin gets 4th shot up you should use your E to speed him up and insta run away when he uses it so the enemy can't trade back. In teamfights, as long as you peel for him he should be able to carry a fight
Ashe
You will completely dominate lane with this champ on your team, the enemy laners will not be able to move. Look for picks the instant you hit 6, and as long as you protect her from getting dove in fights she should be able to carry
Caitlyn
She will carry you through the early game with her strong laning phase, and her long range means that she will never be in danger in fights which lets you use your ult on other targets.
Ezreal
Not the best champ with Zilean, but also not bad. He does not benefit much from your speed ups. Similar to Caitlyn, you shouldn't have to use your R on Ezreal if he plays like he should
Jinx
You will have an extremely weak laning phase, if the enemy all ins you early you have little counterplay. If you get jungle help and can make it to 6, you do become a decent lane, but you will never become powerful until jinx gets a couple items
Kai'Sa
She does benefit from your speed ups, especially if she has evolved E too. The problem with Kaisa is that if she ever R's into the backline, there is almost nothing you can do
Kalista
Absolutely terrible ADC with Zilean. Kalista wants someone to throw into the enemy team, and you can not fill that role
Lucian
Lucian is a pretty short range adc who likes to bully enemies early. The problem is, he doesn't really do this well bot lane, especially with Zilean. Just a much worse version of Draven really
Samira
She can dash in with your movement speed and you can throw bombs on her, and if she somehow dies she benefits greatly from your ult
Kog'Maw
Not great with Zilean. Your laning phase will be trash, but he does benefit from your speed ups. The problem is, if you ult him in fights he will just be insta targetted when he revives. You are pretty much a worse version of lulu when paired with this champ
Miss Fortune
Her e slow is very nice for you since it lets you hit bombs easily. Your speed ups are good with her, if you ever land a double bomb she should be able to ult and do a lot of damage to both enemy laners.
Senna
You should have no problem making it through the early game with Senna, and you outscale just about every lane. You can chain cc with her very easily, especially if she has glacial augment
Varus
You both synergize well with each other, and you can lockdown the enemy adc/supp level 6 and instakill them if varus hits ult or you hit double bomb. Varus is completely immobile, so your speed ups will be very valuable on him
Sivir
You both want to scale, so your laning phase will be a struggle. Her ult and your shurelyas basically do the same thing, and while insane movement speed sounds good in theory, it is actually not that useful
Tristana
Tristana wants to play as aggressive as possible from level 1, but you can not set up for this. Your movement speed is not that useful on her, so if she jumps in flash E on her target and hopefully you can kill them even if they flash
Twitch
His W slow is decent setup for your bombs, and he does benefit from your E. Twitch is somewhat similar to Kog' Maw, you will have a hard time in lane so just try to make it to 6 even if you have to take some bad recalls
Vayne
Very good champ for Zilean post 6. The problem is laning phase, but you do have some kill pressure even against tanky supports if they walks into your E range
Ziggs
I have only played with Ziggs adc a few times, but from what I see this champ is not good with Zilean. If ziggs is ever caught out enough to need your ult, he will just die again after the revive. He does not benefit from your speed ups much, but he is a very safe champ so you can roam and leave him 1v2
Xayah
Xayah is not bad with Zilean, if she ever gets a stun with her E you can hit an easy double bomb. She gets a ton of DPS with her W, so you should look to use your E on her if she ever uses it
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Olaf
Probably the best champ in the game with Zilean, his ability to be immune to cc combined with your insane speed ups allow him to dive the enemy backline with almost no counterplay and survive with your ult
Master Yi
Similar situation to Olaf, but cc can be dangerous. If he gets hit by hard cc insta ult because he will get bursted immediately
Darius
One of my favorite champs to have on my team with Zil. Darius struggles with getting kited, but with your speed ups he has no trouble getting onto the targets he needs to
Aphelios
Aphelios's main weakness is his complete lack of mobility, but you make up for this with your E. He has the chance to completely 1v5 fights, just peel for him and he will carry
Draven
My favorite ADC to play with, he completely carries you through lane and if you perma speed him up he will destroy the enemy team
Jhin
Your slows and double bombs set up his W nicely. Whenever Jhin gets 4th shot up you should use your E to speed him up and insta run away when he uses it so the enemy can't trade back. In teamfights, as long as you peel for him he should be able to carry a fight
Ashe
You will completely dominate lane with this champ on your team, the enemy laners will not be able to move. Look for picks the instant you hit 6, and as long as you protect her from getting dove in fights she should be able to carry
Caitlyn
She will carry you through the early game with her strong laning phase, and her long range means that she will never be in danger in fights which lets you use your ult on other targets.
Ezreal
Not the best champ with Zilean, but also not bad. He does not benefit much from your speed ups. Similar to Caitlyn, you shouldn't have to use your R on Ezreal if he plays like he should
Jinx
You will have an extremely weak laning phase, if the enemy all ins you early you have little counterplay. If you get jungle help and can make it to 6, you do become a decent lane, but you will never become powerful until jinx gets a couple items
Kai'Sa
She does benefit from your speed ups, especially if she has evolved E too. The problem with Kaisa is that if she ever R's into the backline, there is almost nothing you can do
Kalista
Absolutely terrible ADC with Zilean. Kalista wants someone to throw into the enemy team, and you can not fill that role
Lucian
Lucian is a pretty short range adc who likes to bully enemies early. The problem is, he doesn't really do this well bot lane, especially with Zilean. Just a much worse version of Draven really
Samira
She can dash in with your movement speed and you can throw bombs on her, and if she somehow dies she benefits greatly from your ult
Kog'Maw
Not great with Zilean. Your laning phase will be trash, but he does benefit from your speed ups. The problem is, if you ult him in fights he will just be insta targetted when he revives. You are pretty much a worse version of lulu when paired with this champ
Miss Fortune
Her e slow is very nice for you since it lets you hit bombs easily. Your speed ups are good with her, if you ever land a double bomb she should be able to ult and do a lot of damage to both enemy laners.
Senna
You should have no problem making it through the early game with Senna, and you outscale just about every lane. You can chain cc with her very easily, especially if she has glacial augment
Varus
You both synergize well with each other, and you can lockdown the enemy adc/supp level 6 and instakill them if varus hits ult or you hit double bomb. Varus is completely immobile, so your speed ups will be very valuable on him
Sivir
You both want to scale, so your laning phase will be a struggle. Her ult and your shurelyas basically do the same thing, and while insane movement speed sounds good in theory, it is actually not that useful
Tristana
Tristana wants to play as aggressive as possible from level 1, but you can not set up for this. Your movement speed is not that useful on her, so if she jumps in flash E on her target and hopefully you can kill them even if they flash
Twitch
His W slow is decent setup for your bombs, and he does benefit from your E. Twitch is somewhat similar to Kog' Maw, you will have a hard time in lane so just try to make it to 6 even if you have to take some bad recalls
Vayne
Very good champ for Zilean post 6. The problem is laning phase, but you do have some kill pressure even against tanky supports if they walks into your E range
Ziggs
I have only played with Ziggs adc a few times, but from what I see this champ is not good with Zilean. If ziggs is ever caught out enough to need your ult, he will just die again after the revive. He does not benefit from your speed ups much, but he is a very safe champ so you can roam and leave him 1v2
Xayah
Xayah is not bad with Zilean, if she ever gets a stun with her E you can hit an easy double bomb. She gets a ton of DPS with her W, so you should look to use your E on her if she ever uses it
Hi, I am LIGHTBULB (OP.GG), a Diamond 4 support Zilean. I was a Plat 3 jungle main until about May or June of this year, but I started a challenge with a friend where we would level an account from 0-30, and whatever skin shard we got first we would solo queue with that champion and see how high we could climb. I got Sugar Rush Zilean, and started my climb. I instantly fell in love with Zilean's kit, and I have learned a lot in my climb which I hope to share in this guide.
What makes Zilean so good?
Zilean is, in my opinion, the most undervalued champ in the game. I myself personally thought that Zilean was one of the worst champs in the game before I started playing him. However, Zilean is, without a doubt, one of the best supports in the game to main right now. His insane utility and game-breaking ult make his kit extremely strong, but since he is low pick rate people do not realize just how good he is. I personally do not think Zilean should ever be built for damage; there are better options for this. His utility is what makes him so strong. He will almost never be banned, so he is, in my opinion, the best support to 1 trick hands down
Thanks for reading!
Thank you for reading this guide, I hope that you learned a thing or two about Zilean. There are many more things that a better player could tell you about the champ, but I just wanted to share what I have learned so far. I will keep this guide updated, but unless Zilean gets changed (which very rarely happens) or his items get changed, the guide should remain the same.
Beginner Zilean Support Guide (S11) (Updated)
Build Guide By LIGHTBULB NA
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