Zilean is one of the oldest champions in the league of legends, both in lore and in the game’s timeline. He is an excellent champion that is very good at peeling his ADCs. He has an ability that has both damage and Crowd Control. One of the best abilities of Zilean is that he can reduce the cooldown on his skills except for his ultimate.
Plays are limitless with Zilean at any point of the game because he can use his W to reduce the cooldown either on his Q or his E. Champions that rely on movement speed benefit so much from Zilean support as he can constantly speed them up with his E and W reset. His ultimate is also like a cheat code as it gives anyone a free Guardian Angel passive. It revives the champion if that champion dies within Zilean’s ultimate duration.
He can use his ultimate on champions caught by assassins or those who go in on team fights. He can also cast it on his ADC pre-team fight, so enemies avoid the ADC for a certain period. While there can be many things you can do with Zilean, let us first take a look at 5 of the best ADCs you can pair with him.
1. Draven
Of course, Draven has to be in the top 5 as he is an OP champion once you give him enough movement speed. He can catch his axes better when he moves faster. Therefore, he can keep 2 or 3 axes and juggle them as he chases enemies.
Draven is also strong at any point of the game, meaning he goes well with support whose value doesn’t go down throughout the game. Though there are variations of play styles depending upon the phase of the game, let us take a deeper look at how you play this duo.
Early Game Playstyle
You can start the game aggressively or defensively, depending on the enemy bot lane duo. Passive lanes like a Janna and Jinx duo can be played aggressively because they don’t have that much to trade with Draven’s OP damage. Zilean can also bug them with a barrage of Q bombs, so you can pretty much win the lane early on.
From there, you should look to control the wave under your tower so you can farm and zone them away simultaneously. If Draven gets to farm and gain a lead on the opposing ADC, it is pretty much game over. This duo is excellent in doing this tactic because of Zilean’s Q stun. He can constantly threaten the enemy duo of his bombs to back away from the minion range.
Mid Game Playstyle and Buildpath
If enemies are squishy, Draven can easily opt for a duskblade. This gives Draven the most effortless play ever because he can simply run enemies down and one-shot them. Assassins, however, can easily take Draven out, so always look out if the assassins are good, and they gain a lead if they do, try to build a death’s dance and an Immortal Shieldbow to mitigate that burst damage.
Or you can simply coordinate with Zilean as he stuns them when you come out of Zilean’s ult. Whatever your enemies and build path are, midgame usually calls for an aggressive play from Draven as this is where he can truly shine and gain a lead for his team. He has a high kill pressure which he can use to zone enemies away from objectives.
Late Game Playstyle
A full build Dravengame with Zilean support is unstoppable in the late game. Zilean can constantly speed Draven up as Draven won’t be needing Zilean’s stuns anymore. In the late game, his damage would be OP to kill enemies with 1-3 shots. Enemies won’t fight him even if they trade with him. Zilean can revive him. Just watch out if the enemy team can chain their CCs together. If they do, look to buy a Mikael’s on Zilean to dispel stuns.
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2. Jhin
Another grand champion that excels when he has great movement speed. Jhin can also capitalize on Zilean’s stuns. They have more playstyles in the early game than the Draven Zilean combo, so Jhin can hit his W easier. The speed boost is also significant on Jhin as he reloads and positions himself better, especially in the late game.
Early Game Playstyle
Jhin’s early game poke is quite mediocre, except if he hits his W root along with a 4th bounce empowered Q. If these two land perfectly on the enemy, the enemy’s hp bar would look to go down half or even lesser. But with Zilean on Jhin’s side, he can hit his roots quite quickly because of Zilean’s stuns.
You can play safely, and farm as Jhin don’t have that much trading power in the early game, but whenever Zilean lands his stuns, always walk up to the enemy and land your W roots. Use four bullets, guarantee either a kill, an early reset, or both sums burnt.
Mid Game Playstyle and Buildpath
Jhin doesn’t have that much of an option for item builds. He pretty much focuses on bringing his crit damage up along with his movement speed. So the item variety would come from Zilean. He can build an Everfrost to extend his CC on the enemy along with his already impressive stun and slow. He can also build offensively and buy a Luden’s Tempest if enemies play passively.
Either way, with Zilean’s high AP, you can heal Jhin for much more with your ultimate. Whatever building you are trying to do, be sure to only commit to fights if Zilean lands his stuns. Also, keep Zilean always at Jhin’s side because he can get vulnerable from a flank every time he uses his ult.
Late Game Playstyle
Not much has changed from mid-game to late game, only this time, Jhin can kite enemies because of his high movement speed from his passive and Zilean’s constant casting of Eon Jhin. High movement speed on Jhin is excellent as it gives him the ability to run away every time he hits his enemies, meaning it would be hard for them to catch up to him to get in range.
3. Jinx
The revive passive is great on champions that don’t have self-peeling abilities or dashes. Jinx is a great damage dealer and all, but she is pretty much useless if enemies have backline access. Zilean fixes that to render backline access champions useless with his abilities and item builds. This bot lane can be a poke lane when they have good synchronization or play defensively.
Early Game Playstyle
Jinx is not a grand early game champion as she has mediocre damage. Sure her W has great damage, but that’s pretty much it. Her kit is meant to be played in the late game. So a cull starting item is a great buy for her, not only does it give lots of stats, but it also gives bonus gold for each minion slain and another bonus gold when she reaches 100cs upon possession of the item. In the laning phase, have Jinx hit her enemies with a zap so Zilean can follow up with 2 q’s, this is a great poke tactic that lets both of them take nothing in return as it has a long-range.
Mid Game Playstyle and Buildpath
Jinx must have already built her galeforce by now and you should use it as a tool to escape ganks. If you have a lead then you can use it to chase enemies or initiate a trade. Once you are close enough, Zilean can easily back you up with his bombs or he can use his ult to make sure you won’t die.
You still don’t have that much damage so avoid looking for fights, only commit to one if it’s clear that you have the advantage. If you find yourself in a fight, however, look to use Zilean’s ults as much as possible, but when Jinx dies and has Zilean’s ult, only use Zilean’s Q on the enemy if Jinx is about to be revived.
Late Game Playstyle
This is where Jinx can pop off as her stats are all maxed out, her builds are also meant for late game and he excels so much on team fights because of items like Ravenous hydra and Runaan’s Hurricane.
Have Zilean focus on speeding Jinx up and constantly check for situations where he needs to use his ultimate on Jinx. Be mindful though as it is really easy to be tricked if an enemy will go all-in on Jinx. If Jinx doesn’t die and she has Zilean’s ult. Its effect would pretty much be useless.
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4. Varus
He is an easy champion that you can use with a Zilean support. Every time Zilean hits his stuns, Varus can easily burst the enemy champion with his empowered Q. This duo can harass enemies from far away while getting no damage in return.
The only problem they can have is of there are enemies who manage to penetrate their vision defense. ZIlean can also build items like a mage in this comp and he still won’t lose his utility value on Varus as Varus will spend most of his time far away from enemies.
Early Game Playstyle
Utilize your long-range kit and pester enemies with both of your poke abilities. Other than that, all you can do is farm fast enough to gain a lead on the enemy. Watch out though as poke champions tend to lose their mana quickly. Learn to manage your mana expenditure as enemies can go all-in on the both of you the time you both lose your mana.
Mid Game Playstyle and Buildpath
Varus has multiple item builds, he can build a duskblade for a poke lane where his main damage is focused on his Q. He can also build a Kraken slayer where he focuses on attack speed and on-hit effects. Either way, Varus is a very dangerous mid-game champion as his Q damage is pretty OP and enemies don’t have that much item to counter it just yet. It’ll be easier to manage flanks as well because of Zilean’s abilities.
Continue poking enemies with both of your Q’s, but when enemies come together in one circle, cast Varus’ ultimate, Zilean can follow this up to ensure that the creeping stuns of Varus’ ult hits all enemies. If you do this perfectly, you are looking at 5 or more seconds of CC on the opposing team.
Late Game Playstyle
Varus is not an excellent late-game champion as his kit is not made to deal increasingly damage the longer the game goes. So look to gain an incredible lead on the enemy and finish the game as soon as possible. Their mid-game is quite strong but during the late game, Varus becomes somewhat of utility support because of his stun and E slow along with the grievous wounds passive that come with it.
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5. Vayne
Much like Lulu, Zilean can enchant Vayne whenever she chooses to engage the enemy. Vayne is a pretty vulnerable ADC champion that needs all the peels for the entire length of the game. Whenever Vayne goes on to chase enemies, she gains bonus movement speed whenever she is moving towards an enemy champion.
Zilean can enhance Vayne’s speed constantly with his cooldown resets. His stuns are also excellent ways to initiate fights with Vayne, she can use it to position herself where she can stun the enemy with her condemn.
Early Game Playstyle
Vayne is a hyper carry champion that pops off in the late game so it only makes sense to play defensively whoever you are facing in the bot lane. It is best to play safe and avoid deaths to prevent your enemies from gaining a lead on you. Zilean can keep Vayne safe by only using his stuns whenever enemies try to engage Vayne. Sure the lane will be boring but you will surely pop off in the late game.
Mid Game Playstyle and Buildpath
Mid game will see Vayne to start getting stronger. She can deal damage now after she builds herself a Kraken Slayer paired with her PTA rune. Zilean can also use his stuns to initiate fights now and use his speed boost on either Vayne or slow the enemy down. Kraken Slayer is the best build on Vayne as it makes her passives even stronger.
Only build an Immortal Shieldbow if you are behind or there are assassins in the enemy team. Shieldbow is also great when you are the only one with a lead on your team as this item can help you be in a 1v9 situation where you carry your entire team. Zilean’s value won’t fall off however as his kit is pretty much very useful throughout the game.
Late Game Playstyle
Once Vayne completes her core items, all she needs Zilean to be is a utility champion that enchants her all the time, of course, ZIlean has to speed himself up too so he can catch up to Vayne’s insane late-game speeds. Zilean’s ult also protects Vayne from being the focus of the opposing team as killing her while Zilean’s ult is up is pretty much pointless.
Final Thoughts
Playing Zilean is not as hard as other champions, all you have to do is know when and where to use your skills. The casting of his ultimate is instantaneous so be sure to have good timing when using it. Using it too early can make it useless as the ADC won’t be in danger of dying yet but using it too late sometimes prevent you from casting it at all as your ADC can be burst down in a matter of milliseconds.
Thank you so much for reading my content, and I hope you enjoyed it as I invest time and effort in making these articles. I hope this article helps you in your future games summoner, GLHF, and see you on the rift.
