Zed Build Guide by Painecks

Introduction

Hey guys, I know pretty much everything there is to know about Zed, so I thought I'd share my knowledge in a guide here. This will be my first mobafire guide, so feedback is really appreciated, as well as any criticism (just try to be constructive with it, I'd love to improve for you all). This will be a general guide on how to play Zed for both players new and old.

This champion is super strong but I rarely see people build him right, and it breaks my heart because he can do so much more than spam auto attacks with Blade of the Ruined King and Youmuu's Ghostblade. This build is more intricate than that, as it actually utilizes his kit instead of just his auto attacks. I'm here to teach you how to play Zed as he was intended to be played, bursting like an assassin, not mindlessly right-clicking like a weaker Master Yi. In the case that you are a Blade of the Ruined King fan, I'm sure I'll have changed your mind by the time you've finished reading this guide. So without further ado, let us begin...

Pros / Cons

Pros Manaless Strong early game Scales well into late game Super safe, jukes are easy Great assassin, fighter, and splitpusher Fun, flexible champ, can make da plays Best laugh in the game

Cons Gets banned alot Takes lots of practice to use properly Tempting to go in 1v5 Vulnerable to point and click cc Countered by a few items If no ap top or jungle, it will be a struggle late game

Runes and Masteries

A simple, yet ever effective page. AD marks and quints, health seals, and MR glyphs. This gives you a good amount of tank against any ranged auto attack and spell pokes you may suffer in mid lane. Armor seals are optional but not necessary as every other mid laner is AP besides Yasuo and Talon, who Zed can already easily stomp.

Why flat AD over armor penetration?
Well, the passive on Zed's W gives you bonus AD based on the bonus AD you already have. This takes AD from runes and masteries into account, so you get more bang for your buck this way. Not to mention it helps his already op waveclear so he can farm hard in lane and the jungle to outscale enemies no problem.



Standard masteries for an AD caster/assassin. Everything that benefits Zed's spells and damage output, with enough girth to make him hard to take down.

Whaaat no attack speed?
You don't need attack speed for anything really. Zed is a fine cser with that passive of his, and manaless abilities just make csing even more of a breeze. In early fights he relies on burst damage (which he has more than enough of) to dispatch opponents. I never really have to duke it out with an enemy, and if I do, it's because they're running away from me and I've already won.

Abilities and Skill Sequence

Contempt for the Weak is one of the best passives an assassin can have. It is a huge chunk of damage, often a surprising amount to both you and the enemy. It helps you secure kills and cs alike with ease. The only downside is that it is magic damage, and therefore unaffected by any armor penetration you might build. But hey, at least it's calculated into your Death Mark.


Razor Shuriken is your main damaging tool. It's a straight line pass through skill-shot, and if you have your Living Shadow active, it will also throw a Razor Shuriken at wherever your cursor is. It is unique in that if you land both your Razor Shuriken and your Living Shadow's Razor Shuriken, you're basically guarenteed to win the fight because the damage is immense. It is not only your strongest ability, but you can land 3 of them at once with a little forethought and pre-positioning. Talk about burst!


Living Shadow is Zed's bread and butter. It can be used to get vision, cs, secure a kill, slow enemies, flee from a gank, chase someone down, juke, amplifiy damage, and so much more. It is what separates the good Zeds from the great Zeds. It's what makes or breaks your 100 to 0 combo. This is not just an escape, and it's not just a gap closer. For the more creative player, the possibilities are endless.


Shadow Slash is an amazing ability. It does good damage, it's on a very short cooldown, and applies a slow. This plays a key part in securing kills as landing the slow will usually ensure that your Razor Shurikens hit their target. You can use this ability instantly after sending forth your Living Shadow and the target will take the damage and be slowed even before your shadow has finished it's animation. It's also great for wave clearing.


Death Mark is what Zed is infamous for. It's mechanic is insanely powerful for an assassin to have. It gives you crazy amounts of kill potential, and crazy amounts of safety, not counting the untargetability and juke potential of the shadow it leaves. Having this ability off cooldown when somebody jumps on you is pretty much a death sentence for that unlucky individual.

Zed's individual spells work wonders for csing, and their true beauty shines through when used in tandem. Start off by taking a point in Razor Shuriken at level 1, as this will help land those far away minions when you're against a ranged opponent like Orianna or Syndra and can't get too close without being poked down. Take a point into Living Shadow second, this will give you safety, mobility, and yet another tool for landing those cs you can't reach. At level 3 take a point in Shadow Slash, yay another tool for csing, but also the cc from this will allow you to commit to a fight that you know you can win, or at the very least win a trade hard and/or get the enemy's Flash.

Items

This item. This item right here. This is the item that's gonna allow you to snowball uncontrollably. It gives you everything you need to do so. You've got instant waveclear, sustain to stay out as long as you want, ability to do jungle camps in a snap without losing hp, ability to burst people down without your ultimate, an active that you can use when you ult to intensify the Death Mark's damage, and let's not forget the 75 AD! This item is just amazing for snowballing the game in your favor, and the cleave damage combined with your aoe spells also lets you go down bot and get that double (or even triple) kill that you lust for.

Now boots are an interesting one, and it's pretty controversial but these are best in most cases. Because of the pressure they bring, I take them about 95% of the time, if not this then Mercury's Treads are the next best thing so you don't get locked down for 5 years. Though Ionian Boots of Lucidity seem to be a crowd favorite, the problem with them is that they make your cooldowns unnecessarily low. Your spells will be off cooldown well before you can use them anyway because of energy costs, making this item virutally useless. What's more is Zed's cooldowns are already very low as it is, going out of your way to lower them further is pointless. You only shave about 0.5 seconds off the cooldowns of your damaging spells, not worth at all.

Grab this early game, even though you'll sell it if the game drags on, it is well worth it's money with cooldown reduction, attack damage, and armor pen. The kills it will help you get makes this item pay for itself. Don't finish it into anything as there are better buys than either of it's evolved forms. It's the AD equivalent of buying a Haunting Guise that you won't upgrade because of the poor gold efficiency of what it builds into.

This thing is so good. You get loads of AD, which is great on your Living Shadow's passive, and you get 20% lifesteal. This lifesteal also counts into your Ravenous Hydra's splash damage, allowing you to, in some cases, sit on top of 3 or 4 people and just lifesteal off of them and kill them all with your bountiful aoe damage. The shield is great too, it helps you to not get assassinated by other threats if there are any, and helps you dive. Lots of damage, sustain, kit and build synergy, and a bit of tank. What's not to like?

A must-have on just about any assassin. Decent amounts of damage from it, and the 35% armor penetration is simply irreplaceable. If you truly want to carry, you'll need to do something not only about the enemy carries, but their tanks and bruisers as well. This will let you do that. Also, it has good synergy with the Blade of the Ruined King's %hp damage.

Amazing item on all assassins and carries. If you're going to get a defensive item, let it be this one. Combined with it's own spellshield and the shield from your The Bloodthirster, nobody will be able to lock you down and blow you up without you using your Death Mark. Also helps you not get stunned or Exhausted right off the bat when diving the enemy team for their carry, so you can secure the kill and escape unscathed.

NOW you may buy Blade of the Ruined King. Since you can no longer burst the enemy tank with abilities, the sustained damage from this item comes into play. The %hp damage will allow you to take down even the tankiest tanks late game, and the extra bit of attack speed will help you take towers in a split push if the game comes to that. This also helps you lifesteal through any sustained damage a tank might do to you like a spinning Garen with Sunfire Cape and Thornmail for example.

Expanding on build choices

Why build Ravenous Hydra over Blade of the Ruined King first?
I'm so happy to explain for you all, this is what really inspired me to make this guide. You may want to sit down for this part, because it is probably a lot to take in since every Zed you see is somehow oblivious to it all.

First, let's look at the Blade of the Ruined King Zed. He's got some damage, sustain, %hp auto attacks, attack speed, and the active that slows his prey, making them vulnerable to his assault and intensifying the Death Mark pop. But just how much does it help your Death Mark? Well, you rushed this item first and it cost 3200 gold, so let's say it's about 10 minutes in. Everybody is squishy at this time. There really aren't any hp stacked targets that you'd need all that %hp damage for yet, it's insignificant against ~900hp enemies. Everything about it from the active to the passive auto attack damage is just underwhelming early in the game. You're an assassin, you want to assassinate your target, not whittle them down slowly and hope they don't get to safety in time. Not only that, but you spent 3200 gold on this thing that gives you 25 AD and literally like 15 more damage on your Death Mark pop. Remember that early game Death Mark only deals 20% of the damage you did to the target, so take your miniscule Blade of the Ruined King active and cut 4/5 of it out. It's active does 10% of the target's hp, but it has a minimum damage of 100. 20% of that is 20, so Blade of the Ruined King can only add 20 damage if you decide to "burst" a target with less than 1000 hp. And that's before taking their armor into account! The only saving grace of this item is the movespeed steal that lets you land your Razor Shurikens a bit more easily, but you already have a slow in your kit from Shadow Slash. Don't fall for the Blade of the Ruined King build, just because every Zed you see rushes it does not mean it's smart in the slightest.

Now, let us observe the glorious Ravenous Hydra Zed master race. He has 75 AD, this means much more damage from all of his abilities and auto attacks alike. Not to mention this already raises the Death Mark's base damage (probably by more than 20 too). He has more lifesteal, AND it's applied by the splash damage you deal. He can take a camp and be back in lane before you even noticed he left. This Zed can farm waves instantly, use your abilities, drop an auto attack and the Ravenous Hydra active and voila, happy scaling! This Zed has burst damage outside of his ultimate too! Whaaat?? I know, it's shocking, but this ASSASSIN isn't just a walking ult any more! That's right boys, you can kill people with your burst from abilities alone. No Death Mark needed, save it to use as a gap closer or hold onto it for the 1v2!

Youmuu's Ghostblade is the same dance as the Blade of the Ruined King. Don't buy it, you simply do not need to spam auto attacks like you're trying to kill someone with 3000 health early game. Your burst through building straight AD is enough, and opens so many more doors for you.

Combo: The Line

Death Mark > Living Shadow > Shadow Slash > Living Shadow > triple Razor Shuriken >
Contempt for the Weak proc > Ignite > Death Mark

A great Zed combo, it uses your entire kit effectively. You can land a triple Razor Shuriken with this, and get the increased slow from your double Shadow Slash, and position yourself behind them with Living Shadow so they can't run, AND still have the option to Death Mark back if they try to juke you. It was one of the first combos I learned, and I still use it to this day because it offers very little counter play. A great Zed player by the name of Azoh covers this technique in his video here:

Combo: No Death Mark

Living Shadow > Shadow Slash > Living Shadow > auto attack > Ravenous Hydra active >
double Razor Shuriken > Contempt for the Weak proc

You won't really need to use the first combo after you get a kill or 2 under your belt, that's overkill so hang on to your Death Mark. This combo is super strong, but may take a bit of practice. Go on in a custom match and practice this one until you can do it in about 1.5 seconds, this way you can get everything off before the slow from your Shadow Slash decays.

Combo: Risky Dive

Death Mark > Death Mark > Living Shadow > Shadow Slash > double Razor Shuriken

Here's a tricky one. Let's say you and your opponent are about half hp. You want to kill them, but it would require a dive, and they have hard cc like Scatter the Weak or Command: Shockwave. Of course if you were fast enough, you could simply Death Mark them, squeeze in a Contempt for the Weak proc and get out before their spell hit you. But what if you were even less hp than them, and they have a move like Frozen Tomb or
Nether Grasp? How do you turn the tides in this situation? Luckily, balance is a fool's master, so Zed has something up his sleeve for just such an occasion. You want to go up to them and Death Mark twice immediately, so you're out of their ability's range and their turret's range. This will also leave a shadow on top of them that will mimick your abilities. Now, you throw your Living Shadow forward from a safe distance away, use your Shadow Slash to get the slow off, and finally aim for a double Razor Shuriken from your Living Shadow and the shadow you left by them when you hit Death Mark a second time. Granted they were half hp and you landed your spells, you just killed them from under their turret without getting cced in it's range.

These are just a few basic combos, but you can pull off anything you set your mind to with this champion. Experiment and make da plays.

Laning and beyond

Levels 1-4
Start off with a Long Sword and 3x Health Potions. This start is unconditional, it gives you more damage than a Doran's Blade and enough sustain to farm happily through enemy poke. Play passive for the first 3 levels, it's remarkably easy to land perfect cs with Zed. You want all your abilities to all in them, and you'll want your energy to be full too. I usually go on them at level 4, I find Zed can beat most mids at this time, taking their Flash or their life depending on how well you executed your "No Death Mark" combo. Be careful about getting cced in a minion wave or under the turret!

Levels 5-6
After you get your first kill in lane, you'll either have Tiamat or you're close to it. Keep on farming and kill the enemy laner if the opportunity presents itself (ult/ignite is up, their flash is down/they blew their escape, missed their skillshot, or just plain got too close). Once you've got Tiamat, the game is practically over for them as they can do nothing but watch in horror as you clear waves instantly and land perfect cs on top of clearing jungle camps and kicking their tail all the while. During this time though, remember to ward as they'll probably try to get their jungler to come and stop you. What I do is grab a Vision Ward and ward one of the side bushes, and then hug that side of the lane since I know it's safe.

Levels 7-9
After a bit of farming cs and champions, you'll have your Boots of Mobility, at which point the map is all yours. Head on down to bot lane when they're extended and shut down the 4/0 Vayne. Kill the support too if they tried to be a hero. Alternatively, you can go hunting for the enemy jungler. Remember to make sure you push mid before doing any roaming though, give their laner something to do while you snowball the game.

Levels 10-14
At this point you should be looking to take a dragon if you haven't already. This is also the prime moment to farm champions every time your Death Mark is off cooldown, as none of them will be tanky enough to withstand it and none of them will be able to out-damage you. Rally your team mates and try to push for the win now, as you are a force to be reckoned with.

Levels 15-18
Most games won't go on this long, they will usually forfeit around 20 minutes in. In any case, you're just as strong as ever at this point, but there are probably many more factors to consider when you go to fight someone. Do you have vision? Do they have a Guardian Angel? Do they have a Quicksilver Sash or Mercurial Scimitar? Do they have a Zhonya's Hourglass? Do they have any hard cc or silences? It's alot riskier trying to secure kills this late in the game, so what you should turn your attention to fully now is objectives, especially if your whole team is super shut down and you'd get focused instantly in a fight. Zed is an amazing champion, but he's not a miracle worker. So start looking for the opportunity to solo baron nashor , it's easy with your lifesteal stacked build. Either that or coordinate a backdoor, as you can kill towers in maybe 7 attacks with the full build, and they would have to send more than 1 person to stop you, giving your team a momentary advantage. With your Living Shadow you are far too slippery to catch, and the enemy can't simply ignore you, so make sure you do your part to be a pain in the rear for them.

Match-up ratings and tips

Here are a few of the more common enemies you will face in mid lane as Zed. I'll be writing a bit on each match-up and rating them on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10. This is just to give you an idea of what you would be getting yourself into, and some tips on how to cope with each situation. These ratings are based on my personal experiences in mid lane, treat every opponent as if they are the hardest one yet.


Difficulty: 6
Ahri is not a particularly hard lane for Zed, but she does have a few things to watch out for. First and foremost, she will try to hit you with Orb of Deception if she thinks you have it too easy farming. Counter this by stepping to the side, it is a weak move early in the game (unless you get hit by it when it returns and eat the true damage). Second, she may try to Charm you for poke, but a good Ahri will hold her Charm for when you go in on her with your "No Death Mark" combo. It's a devastating disruption and will make you lose the trade via a follow up Orb of Deception and minion aggro should it land. To counter this, try to anticipate her Charm and sidestep a bit when you Living Shadow in, or wait for her to harass with Orb of Deception and then go on her so she can't trade back immediately. Lastly, her ultimate Spirit Rush gives her 3 lengthy dashes to escape you. She may use this to try to juke and outplay you, but you have just as much mobility in your kit if you utilize the positioning of your Living Shadow and Death Mark shadow to keep up with her as she jumps around. Alternitively, she may use this to just flee straight away, in which case you have one more shot at damaging her if you held your Living Shadow and aim for a Razor Shuriken of fate.

Difficulty: 10
Akali is, in my opinion, the hardest counter to Zed. She is just cancer on a stick at the moment, and everything from her kit to her build naturally screws you over. If you were unlucky enough to have to face her, you would start Long Sword and 3x Health Potions as per usual, but this time the Long Sword has to be built into Hexdrinker or she will farm your sorry arse like a 300g minion. Now the first out isn't so brutal, but about 90% of Akalis will start Cloth Armor and 5x Health Potions, and this is just awful. She will harass you constantly with her Mark of the Assassin, and heal through anything you can throw at her with her Twin Disciplines and bounty of Health Potions. You will not be able to fully commit and kill her with the "No Death Mark" combo, as she will drop her Twilight Shroud and outdamage you with her burst and minion aggro. It is a frustrating lane, but grin and bear it until you have your Hexdrinker and a Vision Ward, and then you can attempt an all in, but mind the jungle presence. Ideally you would have Akali banned though, it's just not worth it trying to deal with her.

Difficulty: 3
Annie doesn't see as much play in mid lane anymore, and it's not hard to see why. Her predictable Pyromania stun and short ranged, utility lacking abilities make her a walk in the park to lane against. The only thing is her burst damage can catch you off guard if you aren't careful. She might rush Seeker's Armguard so she can use Zhonya's Hourglass after dropping Summon: Tibbers, which can be annoying to play around. Watch her Pyromania stacks and you'll do fine.

Difficulty: 7
Azir surprised me actually. I only just recently laned against a good Azir, and I wasn't sure what to expect. As it turns out, he is a pretty brutal lane. His Conquering Sands can zone you and offer some devastating poke, and should you try to get in his face, he will knock you up with Shifting Sands, gain a shield, and return heavy sustained damage with his Arise! sand soldiers. At 6, your burst beats his rather badly though, and lucky for you your Living Shadow allows you to pass through his Emperor's Divide. Just farm what you can and play safe until this point, and you will be okay.

Difficulty: 5
Fizz is regarded as a counter to Zed, but it isn't as bad as some might think. He will probably play passive early game, so you can go on and push the lane as hard as you can (without missing cs, of course). Fizz is terrible at farming under his turret, so this will just ensure that you outscale him. His Playful / Trickster is annoying to work around, yes, but it doesn't completely trump your Death Mark. A good Fizz player will hold on to his Playful / Trickster for when you ult, but it doesn't take you the entire Death Mark to use your burst on the target anyway. When he hops on his troll pole, just reposition ahead of him with Living Shadow to gain the positioning advantage, wait for him to come down, and then use your abilities. Sushi, anyone?

Difficulty: 4
Katarina is simple enough. She will throw her Bouncing Blades on you to poke, and pop them with sinister steel. She can not trade with your burst damage, so go on her whenever you like. She will most likely use Shunpo as a safety escape tool, but if she doesn't, you can go on her and kill her or get her flash. At 6 this lane really gets ugly for her, as your Death Mark provides momentary invulnerability to her Death Lotus. Just make double sure to warn your team if she ever goes mia, as she can snowball like crazy.

Difficulty: 6
LeBlanc isn't too much of a problem for Zed. She won't poke you so much as she will try to 100-0 you, which is possible for her because she still has broken damage and mobility. However, you are mobile and have tons of damage of your own, the only thing is you are less squishy than her by a good margin. Use this to your advantage, trade hard at level 4 and then finish her off with a Death Mark at level 6. This may prove tricky unless you pop her mirror image and bait her Distortion before hand, but by using "The Line" combo you can assure you have the positioning advantage on even this most slippery of mid laners.

Difficulty: 8
Lissandra is a rather tough opponent. She rarely sees play, but if you first pick Zed you very well may get counter-picked with Lissandra. Normally, her Ice Shard does not pose much of a threat in terms of poke to most mid laners, but it can get very annoying with Zed as you are melee range and therefore always ripe to get nailed by Ice Shard's extended range. To counter this, don't stand directly behind minions that are between you and Lissandra. Avoid trading with her outside of Razor Shuriken poke, as a good Lissandra will stop you dead in your tracks with Ring of Frost once you make contact with her and follow up with an Ice Shard and auto attacks, losing you the trade. Be wary when using Death Mark on her, as this will land you in range of her Ring of Frost, so try to bait it or watch for her to cs with it before going in. You will need to utilize the "Risky Dive" combo if you want to kill her, but be extra careful as she can also ult herself to ignore your Death Mark as effectively as a Zhonya's Hourglass. I'd say try roaming bot or top for kills, or even hunting her jungler before they hunt you.

Difficulty: 4
Lux is one of the more obnoxious lanes. She'll try to poke you with Lucent Singularity through your minion wave, and there isn't much you can do to stop her. If it lands, she will follow up to proc her passive Illumination, deny her this by simply walking away. However, after you are level 4, if she tosses her Lucent Singularity at you, you can go in with the "No Death Mark" combo, dodging the damage of her Lucent Singularity and trading back hard. At 6, killing her with Death Mark isn't much of a problem. Using "The Line" combo, you are far too mobile for her to land her Light Binding on you, but just make sure you calculate her Prismatic Barrier into the equation if you do go in for the kill.

Difficulty: 8
Malzahar is a formidable opponent for Zed indeed. When you go in to last hit minions, his Malefic Visions may spread to you, so make sure you are keeping track of your own minions' hp as well as his. Malzahar is not like other AP mid laners, he is unique in that he has sustained damage outsides of his poke. If you try to commit to a fight with him, you would have to tank not only his poking tools and minion wave, but his Summon Voidling and Null Zone as well. Your best bet is to land Razor Shuriken and use your Living Shadow to poke him, but don't swap to it or you may very well regret it. Though he can utilize his whole kit effectively against you, pre 6 is actually the best time to try and kill him, as you don't have to work around his Nether Grasp. Malzahar is a pretty hard counter to Zed, but he isn't worth a ban. Practice your "Risky Dive" combo and he will feel about as difficult as any lane.

Difficulty: 7
Orianna would be considered a skill match-up by myself, even though she has a lot in her favor. Her Clockwork Windup is annoying as this means she has a reliable form of manaless poke, which is never fun when you're a melee champion. Her Command: Attack can zone you from cs early on, and combined with her auto attacks you will run out of Health Potions rather quickly. Command: Dissonance can help her flee from you and Command: Protect can soak a lot of your "No Death Mark" combo burst. But she doesn't really have any solid forms of peeling you from her pre 6, so use this time to attack her with the "No Death Mark" combo. A good idea is to wait until she is a fair distance from her ball, this way when you go on her she needs to wait longer for Command: Protect or Command: Attack to reach her location, thus allowing you to trade hard before she can peel you. When she is low enough, you can attempt the "Risky Dive" combo at 6.

Difficulty: 8
Syndra is a tough one for sure. Her Dark Sphere is super strong, super fast, and super wide range, which makes it super annoying. A good Syndra will nail you with just about every one of these and there's little you can do about it, as she will likely throw them on top of her dying cs as you go in to last hit. Her ability Scatter the Weak also has a huge hit box, be mindful of her Dark Spheres positioning as getting touched by one when she uses this ability will result in a long stun. Killing her is not too hard, but she is almost like an AP Zed in regards to damage, so unless you have a Hexdrinker you will be trading kills with her at best. That is, of course, unless you time your Death Mark with her ultimate Unleashed Power. Doing so successfully will result in her orbs disappearing into thin air and you reappearing unscathed, securing your victory in the fight. However, this is hard to pull off if she does land her Scatter the Weak stun on you and uses Unleashed Power right after, so maybe an early pair of Mercury's Treads would not be such a bad idea.

Difficulty: 2
Twisted Fate is one of the more free lanes for Zed. All you have to do really is back up if he tries to poke you with Pick A Card and sidestep his Wild Cards. When Pick A Card is on cooldown, you can get in his face and he will be helpless. The only thing to look out for is when you are diving him, as his Pick A Card gold card will stop you in your tracks. Just warn your team if he goes out of your sight for even a second after 6, because while his Destiny is not very effective in lane, it is a devastating gank tool that can snowball the game in his favor.

Difficulty: 4
Veigar does not pose much of a threat to Zed in lane. He will mostly just try to farm his Baleful Strike, so feel free to go on him whenever you like as he can not fight you at all for at least the first 15 minutes of the game. Just be careful of getting stuck in his Event Horizon with your Living Shadow on cooldown. Be especially wary when diving him as this ability has a huge radius and split second cast time, and the stun lasts for 1.5 seconds at rank 1. Later in the game he'll most likely be able to blow you up if you do not have your Banshee's Veil, but fear not, because your super balanced Death Mark can make his Primordial Burst go bye-bye with good timing.

Difficulty: 6
Xerath is more annoying than anything. He can spam his Arcanopulse endlessly with his passive Mana Surge, so you'll be doing a fair bit of dancing in this lane. He does not have an awful lot of kill potential on you though, but he can bully you out of lane without much of a problem. He is just barely long ranged enough to stay out of your Living Shadow range, so you have to take any opening you can get to damage him. If you do manage to get on top of him, he will throw his Shocking Orb to stun you and follow up with Eye of Destruction for the slow. Anticipate this and circle strafe once you swap to your Living Shadow, and killing him is a piece of cake. He will rush mana items, so you won't have to worry about a Seeker's Armguard too early, allowing you to farm him for kills after 6 if you can be bothered to stay in lane with him.

Difficulty: 4
Yasuo is a relatively easy one. You can choose to just farm since poking through his Way of the Wanderer shield is annoying, but depending on the Yasuo you might get attacked with Steel Tempest. If this is the case, put him in his place and remind him who the real king of AD mid laners is with your "No Death Mark" combo (be mindful of his Wind Wall as it will eat your Razor Shurikens for him and probably make you lose the trade). He will most likely hug his turret after losing the trade miserably, so just farm up until 6 and end his pitiful existence with Death Mark. However, if he isn't hugging his turret after your burst, it may be because his duo partner with a knock-up is coming to set him up for a Last Breath, so be wary of ganks and hold on to your Living Shadow.

Conclusion

zed op lol xd