How to win lane as Locke against Zed · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
An assassin mirror-war where your passive votes last — whoever hits 40% first is playing YOUR game, not his.
Track: Zed's R — Death Mark (120–100s cooldown). The all-in — spend your defensive answer AFTER the mark lands, not before.
Read from Locke's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Zed.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 1 is pure farm with only single-target Q chip available, so neither side leads. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Level 2 stays even since Zed can't all-in and you lack kill pressure yet. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Level 3 is skill-based: his shadow poke exists but his energy costs let you trade back evenly. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Levels 4-5 remain a wash decided by whether you dodge the shadow line or he catches you low. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Level 6 gives Zed no edge on its own until the fight proves who times the death-mark window better. |
| First item | Even / skill | First item is your window because your disable cleanly answers his R all-in, letting you punish his commitment. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | With 2+ items Zed's assassination scales back to even, so fights hinge on skillful peel timing against his R. |
Levels 1-2 are even; Zed can chip with Q but has no kill threat and burns energy fast. Trade back on his cooldowns and don't stand in the shadow line where his double-Q lands. Zed's poke pattern is Q (Razor Shuriken) plus a W-shadow double-Q for max harass; sidestep the shadow line and you take almost nothing. His energy is the tell — after two full combos he's dry, so that's when you step up, land your poke, and shove him under tower so he can't recover HP or energy.
The full Locke vs Zed report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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No sample yet — Locke vs Zed has no Emerald+ win-rate data for this patch; treat it as a skill matchup and play the plan below.
Yes — every one of the 7 stage windows in Locke vs Zed is a skill check.
Locke runs Electrocute · Sudden Impact · Sixth Sense · Ultimate Hunter · Bone Plating · Revitalize vs Zed.
Start Doran's Ring + 2 Health Potions and back for Sheen (≈900g) — the Spellblade pattern starts here. Build Lich Bane first, then Shadowflame / Mejai's (if sealing), with Plated Steelcaps / Sorcerer's Shoes.
Playing the other side? Zed vs Locke guide →
All Locke mid lane matchups →
More Locke mid lane matchups: vs Xerath · vs Yasuo · vs Yone · vs Ziggs · vs Zoe · vs Ahri