Zed vs Talon
Skill matchup
Build vs Talon
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Zed: Voltaic Cyclosword, Bastionbreaker, Axiom Arc, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Edge of Night, Serylda's Grudge, Hubris, Lord Dominik's Regards.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Talon's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Talon's spells Wound champions and large monsters, stacking up to 3 times. When Talon attacks a champion with 3 stacks of Wound, they bleed for heavy damage over time.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8s | 9s | 0s | – |
| 6 | 7s | 9s | 0s | 1m40 |
| 9 | 6s | 8.5s | 0s | 1m40 |
| 11 | 6s | 8s | 0s | 1m20 |
| 16 | 6s | 7s | 0s | 1m |
| 18 | 6s | 7s | 0s | 1m |
Playing as Zed
Tips to maximize your impact
- Combo with two shadows
To kill, cast Death Mark (R), then Living Shadow (W), Shadow Slash (E) and Razor Shuriken (Q): with two shadows, you throw three shurikens.
- Dodge with Death Mark
Cast Death Mark (R) just as the enemy casts their decisive spell: during the dash, you're untargetable.
- Save the swap back to your shadow
After Death Mark (R), save the recast to get out: you swap places with the shadow left at your starting point, far from the fight.
- Save your energy
Save enough energy for a full combo rather than casting your spells for nothing: Living Shadow (W) refunds energy when you and your shadow hit the same target.
- Flank to reach the carry
In teamfights, go around the sides and save Death Mark (R) for an isolated target: going in from the front exposes you to the whole team's CC.
Playing against Talon
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Dodge his blades on the return
Get out of the path of Rake (W), especially on the return: the returning blades slow you, and each spell that hits brings you closer to Blade's End (passive).
- Push to keep him in lane
Push your wave whenever you can: he then has to stay and farm instead of roaming by vaulting walls with Assassin's Path (E).
- Engage when his ult is on cooldown
If you can engage, go for him while Shadow Assault (R) is on cooldown: it's his main way out of a fight, and it comes back in 100 to 60 seconds.
- Ping as soon as he disappears
Ping your team as soon as he leaves your vision, and ward the paths behind walls: Assassin's Path (E) lets him vault walls to roam through the jungle.
Patch 16.21.1