I dont understand how a champion can snowball SO easily, with so little effort, pokes the entire lane with no resource cost, when you DO get enough mana to actually fight him, his ult, even if used incorrectly, instagibs you if you dont have the Hourglass. zzz Mid is just as stale as ever.
Why not play a bruiser mid, or a mid that doesn't use mana?
If you're a mana using mage/fighter/anything you aren't forced to go first item Zhonya's.
PSA: FROZEN HEART counters Zed and gives you a TON of stuff.
100 armor to cut his potential damage in half? Check 400 mana for more skills? Check 20% CDR? Check AS slow aura, further lowering his all-in damage? CHECK
Especially if you have wave clear (a la Xerath, Ziggs, Lux, Velkoz, Diana) this makes it dangerous for Zed to roam. You can just shove the lane and follow after for a nice counter-gank while also chunking turret.
I used to hate Zed and still do to a degree because I could never do well against him. It felt like you've put it and that there was nowhere safe to go without being poked constantly then an ult and POP I'm dead. I'm not a great player, I have my moments but what I do know is that I started to fully understand him after playing him. His ult itself does very little damage and relies on damage done before the mark triggers. Since I found that out one of the first things I'll do if I don't have Zhonya's is get away from him when he appears after using ult. Champions with dashes can do it more easily but for others you may have to flash away. If you're playing an immobile champion mid you may want to consider always taking exhaust. You have less kill pressure in lane but the times you face Zed or Yasuo will make it worthwhile.
Other ways to deal with him are pretty obvious. Cleanse summoner, QSS, Zhonya's or if you can stun him as he lands then the damage will be minimal. The really good Zed players will wait until you're already low on health, perhaps
Perhaps im not versed enough to speak on this topic, but for some reason or another I like 
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whenever I have the opportunity to play mid. I don't feel forced to build a QSS, perhaps thats because my ulti displaces me and makes me invulnerable a bit which is something not many if any AP mid laners can boast. However even pre-6 when I can quite easily be poked out (shurikens hutr gais D:) im not that bad off, I can trade with him if I just keep tabs on his cooldowns. I think thats honestly your best bet if you fight a Zed as any champion, practice csing under pressure and attack as soon as he blows a skill that puts you in a favorable position with him being unable to adequately respond. Thier hubris may be thier own downfall. also Stamina is a resource, Zed isn't resources-less, his resource is just superior to Mana.
Zed's Q deals less damage if you are hiding behind minions - Do it so you won't get poked so hard.
Zed's W has 18-17-16-15-14 seconds CD so I don't see it as a SPAMMABLE tool for poke, not to mention that 18 seconds is ENOUGH for you to make a play and kill him with your jungler when he uses his W to extend his range.
When Zed ult's you, don't fucking panic, He will appear BEHIND you so keep that in mind, I saw people PANIC FLASHING during my ult cast so they carry me with their flash...Wait for Zed to finish his ult cast so you can potentially escape with your flash. ( Ye I saw that even in platinum, they flash even before I finish my R animation)
As a Zed player who plays him since he is released through buffs and nerfs I can tell you 1 thing, Laning vs Cassiopeia is EASY AS F*CK, but laning against GOOD CASSIOPEIA forces me to HEXDRINKER which is her advantage in lane.
As a Zed main, I have played Twisted Fate versus enemy ZED in platinum 3 and I annihilated him. Why? Becouse I know every single inch of Zed's kit. :)
Conclusion? People are afraid of a flashy champions, Zed's ultimate puts him on top of you, I know that's scary but there is enough time to react. Do not panic, that's all, try to hide behind minions, a good Zed player won't spam his W like a braindead, play something safe like Swain, Orianna, Good Viktor can easily annihilate Zed, Katarina vs Zed is a skill matchup, same goes for Ahri, Xerath and Malzahar, dont just pick something with high skill cap like Cassiopeia or something that's bad against Zed...for example, Yasuo, Lux, Ziggs, Kassadin, etc. I saw people locking Lux when they see Zed in opposite side...lol, just lol.
PS: Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that Zed is not strong. He is strong indeed but he isn't an instawin champion, you can play around his kit and contribute from every single miss use of his kit, just learn how to do that and you will be fine. Personally, I would rather lane SOLO against 2 Zed's than against 1 Talon. Again, I am not saying Talon is stronger than Zed, but his E is one of the scariest things to me when I play something like Syndra or Zerath..INSTANT BLINK FTW!
Nothing is impossible. And you played Swain and didnt get Hourglass rushed against a Zed?
Also, Cass counters Zed incredibly hard. Stun him when he ults, back off or all in, you are fine. If he gets QSS, get a Zhonyas.
same thing can be said for every meta top + mid lol.
Play Kayle and Take Exhaust Flash or Play Lissandra with exhaust Flash.. Just Time you ult with his lol..
I play Kayle so i can let you know how i play against Zed...
Few points to be noted are: His Shadow and his W range (dnt get hit by his shadow's W while trying to chase).. and Q cooldown..
At Lvl 1 you have E push and get Lvl 2 first and dodge those Shuriken he throws...
Punish him with Q-E or zone him off minions when he uses his Q to farm... but back off and w8 for his Q...also dnt overchase..
Remember his ult pops after 4 sec.. so when he ults use exhaust him first and trade.. then Ult to block the Death mark damage.. you should win almost all the trades like this
Final word: Ward and watch out for Ganks...
Also you can also get Zhonyas later if you want to save your ult for using it on someone else
try cloth start with 3 hp pots and 2 mana pots. rush seekers and if you can afford it get a dorans on your first back as well. pretty much impossible for zed to kill you if you do that.
Do you always take ignite mid lane?
