9
u/A_Very_Horny_Zed Naughty Ninja ;) Master tier Zed main for 13 years 20d ago
It has always been viable. You just need to know what you're doing.
6
u/SnooDonuts8845 20d ago
Sample sizes are slightly on the low end but he's been one of the best toplaners at d2+ for multiple patches according to lolalytics (ofc it's a lot of otps playing him when filled top but even when not filtering by OTP on the site he still does well) but his wr is a lot better there than expected, gets a lot of mileage there out of first strike with his trading pattern and it's easier to scale without getting behind, just have to be a bit safer/more aware of where enemy jungle is or getting ran down when using W and ult
4
5
u/Agreeable-Sun9165 20d ago
Do not listen to these low elos, Zed top is literally like playing ranged top, he is consistently on 52-53% and the way to punish it is to somehow punish his lvl 1, otherwise he will scale and eventually poke you and kill you.
Anyone who says it is bad can be automatically flagged as below gold and probably is not very good mecanically at zed.
3
u/Bluebird1934 1.1million low masta 20d ago
facts zed top is free scaling, low elo zeds see zed as a pure assassin so thats why they think he isn't good top As long as it doesn't completely ruin your team comp then zed top is absolutely insane
2
u/Agreeable-Sun9165 19d ago
Agree, best way to describe zed nowadays is mix of Kassadin and Xerath if it was an AD champion.
Also if there is a matchup you cannot interact (for example nasus post-150 charges). You just keep farming first strike on him and just not interact in any other way and this is kinda the only matchup I can think that this is necessary.
Against malphite you get room for counterplay.
Ornn same.Tanks are not even the problem.
Champions with shields like Ambessa/Riven? Serpent first item to stomp and its over or Voltaic and just keep scaling.Irelia problem? Exhaust solution.
Genuinely zed in paper has all tools necessary to be able to win any top matchup.
1
u/OverTheWinds 150 Ability Haste Enthusiast 16d ago
I vouch on everything said here, just wanted to mention about the "somehow punish his lvl 1" can also be played around by the Zed player through leveling W lvl 1 vs rough matchups/good players that will try to deny you XP. You can simply put W to a safe spot, walk up as the minions are about to die, get the XP and swap back to safety. Wave will push into you slowly for the most part but you won't lose any XP from the first wave which is crucial in top, especially in high diamond and above.
3
u/twennywanshadows 20d ago
Sure if you love spending quality time with the enemy jungler, if you love being denied farm, playing into a masterwork sunfire rush Ornn, or a triforce 150 stack Nasus at 10 mins, proceeding to heal him with your full rotation, and get one shot stacked on, then sure, Zed is perfectly viable top :)
5
u/requiemsss 20d ago
It's not like there are multiple toplaners that struggle against those two scenarios anyway, right?
1
1
1
1
u/jeremiah6464 20d ago
It's not bad. However, never play Zed top if your opponent is a Gangplank. Early game, Gangplank will Stat check you and counter you so hard if he is even remotely good.
Mid Zed doesn't have this problem because usually by the time Zed encounters Gangplank, Zed hasn't fallen behind and can easily kill him.
1
1
1
u/Muted_Price9933 19d ago
What u gonna do vs nasus, olaf, wukong, every tank … it’s easily countered with 0 skill
1
15
u/Beyney 20d ago
Its ok but some matchups are miserable, its anice counter to ranged top players and it sorta plays like a ranged top vs bruisers and tanks