Kassadin vs Zed Counter Pick
Matchup Summary
What the Data Means
Kassadin, the Void Walker, meets Zed, the Master of Shadows, in the Mid lane. 836 tracked games on 16.13.1 put Kassadin at a 47.1% win rate into Zed. That is 2.9 points under even, which is why Zed is listed among the champions Kassadin struggles into.
With both sitting in melee range (150 against 125), neither side gets a free poke pattern.
Zed answers in physical damage where Kassadin deals magic, so neither can copy the other’s build. Kassadin carries 646 base health to Zed’s 654, and 21 armour to 32. Zed starts 11 armour ahead, which is felt before either buys anything. Late-game bases read 2567 health / 89 armour for Kassadin and 2337 / 112 for Zed. Zed also hits harder before items — 63 AD to 59. Zed covers ground faster from level one (335 against 345).
Shadow Slash (E) is the ability Kassadin has to respect, just as Zed plays around Null Sphere. Riftwalk and Death Mark are the two buttons that end the exchange outright. One spends Mana and the other Energy, which changes how long each can keep poking.
Behind 47.1% are 836 games against Zed, not a handful of anecdotes.
FAQ
No — current data marks this as a counter matchup: Zed has the statistical edge. Kassadin wins 47.1% of the recorded games.
47.1% from Kassadin's perspective, measured on patch 16.13.1.
836 ranked games at Emerald rank and above, across all regions.
The current Kassadin build — items, runes and skill order from the same data set — is on the Kassadin build page.