Akali vs Zilean
How to Beat Zilean as Akali
based on 2,499 Akali vs Zilean matchupsHow We Analyze LoL Champion Counters
Akali vs Zilean Matchup Summary
Best Akali vs Zilean Counter Build
Items
Starter Items
Early Items
Core Akali Items
Optional Items
Summoner Spells
Skill Order
Runes
Guide to Countering Zilean as Akali
Tips for Playing as Akali against Zilean
Akali excels at killing fragile champions. Let your team initiate and then strike at the people in the back.
Twilight Shroud offers safety in even the most dangerous situations. Use that time to save up energy for a quick strike later.
Advice to Win Against Zilean
Zilean is fragile if a team focuses on him, but otherwise he's very difficult to kill. Commit to killing him as a team.
If you're able to match Zilean's speed, it can sometimes be beneficial to wait until his ultimate has faded before landing the killing blow.
Akali vs Zilean Counter Stats
How to Counter Zilean with Akali in LoL
The stats shown on this page clarify some strategic Akali against Zilean matchup statistics that may help you realize the differences and similarities between the pair. As an example, Akali’s KDA ratio ([kills + assists] / deaths) of NaN is more than Zilean’s KDA ratio of NaN, demonstrating that Akali may be more central to her team's team fighting potential than Zilean. This observation is in large part a result of the difference in kills.
Akali typically has a much larger longest kill spree than her opponent does. Typically, she receives more damage than Zilean. This commonly reflects differing health capacities, yet it can also indicate that the one champ has less agility and thus is unable to kite away from additional harm when poked or engaged.
Differences between Akali and Zilean
Damage Types Compared
Champion Playstyles Compared
Who is Better, Akali or Zilean?
Both LoL champs are great champions. Both have their pros and cons. In League's current meta, Akali usually fairs equally well when facing off against Zilean, with a 49.3% win rate. As a result, Akali makes an ok counter for Zilean.
While Akali does have a lower win rate compared to Zilean, when they face off with one another, Akali also has a greater learning curve that makes her a more time consuming champ to learn. You still need to be cautious when picking Akali into Zileanas her relative depth means you may not be able to reach her full potential without a lot of practice beforehand.
Moreover, Akali has almost no amount of CC and other utility, a similar amount to Zilean. This makes her just as valuable during team fights, especially when facing champions with a lot of burst damage.
While there is not one best champion in League of Legends, in Akali vs Zilean matchups, Zilean is the better champ with a similar win rate, more champion depth, and a similar amount of utility to help out your allied champions during late stage team fights.
Akali is a somewhat poor counter for Zilean. Focus your play on maximizing your gold income and clearing objectives. If you are able to do that, you should hold your own as Akali against Zilean.
Other Champion Matchups Against Akali
Additional Information for Akali Players
How We Calculated Our Akali vs Zilean Build and Stats
Other Useful Resources
Further Insights to Win this Matchup
To truly master Akali in order to counter Zilean during both the lane and mid / late game phases of League of Legends, you should continue reading to learn a few extra tricks and insights into this matchup. If you listen to the build and suggestions displayed here, you will increase your win rate significantly and be that much closer to League of Legends pro players.
Akali typically racks up more CS relative to Zilean. Champions who on average don't acquire many minion kills usualy don't need much CS to be valuable teammates, such as support champions. These kinds of champions are capable of scaling well off of their skills, stats, and first items alone. Yet, champions with a lot of CS, such as hyper-carries, usually have to have a lot of items to be effective. In either case, try to do better than the numbers displayed here to do well.
The most important items to have in your Akali versus Zilean build consist of Rabadon's Deathcap, Zhonya's Hourglass, and Stormsurge. When Akali incorporated at least these three pieces in her build, she performed significantly better vs. Zilean than with most other commonly used builds. In fact, Akali boasted an average winrate of 49.3% when countering Zilean with this counter build.
To have the best likelihood of coming out on top against Zilean as Akali, Akali players should take the Fleet Footwork, Presence of Mind, Legend: Tenacity, Coup de Grace, Overgrowth, and Second Wind runes from the Precision and Resolve rune sets. Out of all the rune combinations players picked for Akali vs Zilean clashes, this mixture of runes yielded the greatest win rate. In fact, these runes averaged a 49.3% win rate overall.
If you would like to view Akali versus Zilean tips and matchup stats and build suggestions for a a particular division, feel free to choose one from the selection menu shown above. If viewing for the first time, the stats and strategies given are computed using all rounds run with both champions.