Zilean

Zilean is a utility mage usually played as a support, though mid lane works as a secondary option. His worth has little to do with flashy stats. Through his Time In A Bottle passive, he banks experience that he can pass to an ally to complete their level-up, and he gains experience himself in the process. Few champions speed up a teammate’s power spike this directly, and he typically feeds those levels into a carry.

His damage and crowd control come from Time Bomb, a charge he throws that clings to nearby units and goes off in an area after three seconds. The signature play uses Rewind, which returns the cooldowns of his basic abilities. If he casts Time Bomb twice, the second bomb can set off the first early and stun everyone inside it. Pulling off that stick-and-stun requires good timing and anticipation, which is why his difficulty rating looks lower than the execution demands.

Speed control and a second life

Time Warp can be adjusted to the moment: it grants an ally a big burst of movement speed for chasing or fleeing, or it heavily slows an enemy. With Rewind, he can recast it again and again during long fights. Chronoshift is his ultimate safety net. This time rune turns back the clock on an allied champion who would otherwise die, effectively giving them a revive. Enemies then have to kill that target twice or give up on them altogether.

Zilean is fragile and lacks reliable hard engage, so he protects and enables rather than starting fights. He fits players who are patient, read the map well, and enjoy controlling the pace of a game by spending their own resources to make a teammate nearly unstoppable.