PROS

- Counters nearly every other champion in lane.
- Strong early game and roaming potential.
- Great solo-kill potential.
- Easy to learn/play.


CONS

- Certain champions can shut you down pretty hard.
- You need good game knowledge to utilize assassins.
- If you don't win early/mid game, you'll probably lose.
- Requires good map awareness and game sense.

I feel like the domination part of the runes is pretty self-explanatory, so I will skip out on some of those.

Zombie Ward - I take this over eyeball collection because Zed is not a scaling champion. I've mentioned before that if you lose early game as Zed, you will probably lose the game. Zombie ward let's you use the mid-priority that you have as Zed to keep track of enemy jungler and their mid-lane movements. You'll also have Duskblade of Draktharr with you, so you can get free wards from enemy wards. Vision wins games.

Relentless Hunter - Let's you roam better. You will be getting Youmouu's Ghostblade second item so this bit of movement speed will help. Also, the healing from the other mastery is so insignificant early game you might as well not have a mastery.

Precision - I know other builds sometimes run Sorcery, and I understand why they would, but Precision is better in almost every way.

Triumph - Zed has no innate sustain, and he's an assassin. Triumph is a broken mastery right now and it would be a mistake not to run this. The free gold upon kills is a bonus.

Coup de Grace Good synergy with your Ultimate.

I'll also explain why most other high-elo players don't run Sorcery.

The Ultimate Hat - This takes too long to scale and be effective. This mastery is also only good once you have 40% CDR, and you'll only reach that point when you have three items - Duskblade, Youmouus, and Black Cleaver. You might as well take Transcendence

Transcendence - If transcendence wasn't in the Sorcery section I would take this. CDR is nice, especially on a champion that doesn't use mana. Also gives you AD once you go above the cap.

Scorch - This is a pretty good mastery. The thing is, your laning prowess is already good as Zed, and after level 5 there's no point of poking the enemy. If your Q managed to touch the enemy, you could've probably went all out instead of just poking them with that Q and kill them. Coup de Grace will overall boost your damage far more than Scorch will.

I believe there's not much to explain regarding to items too. Every single Zed should be building the same items, however, the order of your build can switch around from time to time.

Duskblade of Draktharr - This item is great for Zed in so many ways. Even without the bonus damage, this is a great item because it let's you know whether you've been seen or not. Even when the temporary sweeper is on CD, you can tell if you're seen or not by whether your bonus damage Duskblade passive is ready or not. If it is still ready, then you have not been seen.

Youmuu's Ghostblade - Second item. HOWEVER, if you're winning VERY hard, this is a great first item. The bonus movement speed let's you catch up to the enemy when they try to run away, and this let's you roam much more easily in the early game.

Levels 1 and 2 - Just use your Q to farm. Do NOT get poked. It's not worth the CS. Make sure your HP is full and don't get greedy. Trading your HP for CS is one of the biggest mistakes a rookie Zed player will make.

Level 3 - You finally have all 3 of your skills and you're actually a threat now. The enemy SHOULD be playing more carefully, and if they aren't, punish them with a W-E-Q combo. I normally hesitate a bit after W-E, before throwing my Q. It's much easier to land it that way.

Level 4 - Your real power-spike. Your Q will be doing a lot more damage. Keep harassing the enemy laner with poke. Be aware of the enemy jungler though. AND continue to outtrade the enemy laner. CS does not matter. You just want lane priority, and eventually the kill. YOu should be getting CS safely whenever you can though.

Level 6 - If played correctly, you will almost always get a kill at this level. Zed has one of the biggest killing potentials in the game. If you don't, you probably blew their summoners and they'll be forced to play a lot more safe. This will give you the opportunity to roam.

If you were playing correctly, the enemy should be giving you immense respect by now, since you probably killed them once or twice, or have a significant advantage in CS. Try to track the enemy jungler by warding their camps, and roam accordingly.

You should also try to coordinate with your jungler and do a 2-man gank, so that even if the enemy is under turret, you guys should still be able to kill. Ask your jungler to help ward the enemy jungle with you too. Since you have mid-priority, you will win a 2v2 if one every breaks out.

Take as many turrets as you can and kill mid-lane shoved in. This will be the strongest point in the game for you, when everyone still doesn't have their armor items. Keep track of the enemy carry's summoner spells.

Also, you should almost never run head-in during a teamfight. Take advantage of duskblade and actually PLAY like an assassin. Use blind spots and kill their carries when they least expect it. You picked an assassin for a reason. Don't play an assassin like a mage.

Well, if you've reached this point in the game (35+ minute mark) then it's quite unfortunate. Enemy carries should have Zhonya's Hourglass or Guardian Angel by now. If the enemy is playing right, then there should be no chance of you winning.

I would just try to harass them with W-E-Q combos and try to find a good opportunity to go in during the chaos of a teamfight.

DO NOT GO IN HEADFIRST. YOU WILL GET EXHAUSTED AND CCED AND DIE IN AN INSTANT. Wait for them to use their decisive skills. However, you still have to be wary of the Guardian Angel and Zhonyas. Pick off low targets too, if you see them.

Basic Harass - W-E-Q
Good for poking, but after using this you're required to play safe for like 20 seconds. Do this if you're planning to kill later on.

All-in if they're in W range :
W-E-W-Auto-Q-Auto-R-E-Auto-Q
If you have ignite, do it once you're in melee range. You usually don't need this much, but this is what happens in a 100-0. Also, you've gotta be aware of the enemy's retaliation of course. Use R to dodge a skill if you can.

All-in if they're not in W range :
Pop Youmuu's, W-W-R-E-Auto-Q-Auto, try to stick to them, -E-Auto-R back out.

If you are extremely fed :
Youmuu's-W-E-Q-Auto.

Good Luck!