So, we gut a champ who has more telegraphing and counterplay than anyone else on the roster...

But we ignore point and click one shots:

We ignore braindead clickers who kill you in <2s through autos or by spamming:

We ignore champs who are always very highly contested, often considered broken, and are really never in a bad spot:

... but we gut a champ who never had a 50%+ average WR, and has so much telegraphing it's silly. You could literally never take a hit from her in a game if you played well and understood her kit, but we deemed her toxic, because being punished for not exercising counterplay isn't something we want in League.

Now, remind me why we destroyed Zoe when almost any burst mage does more damage, and is far more reliable, with less counterplay? Kind of seems to go against "fair" and "balanced," if you ask me.

Even assassins, WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE BAD LANING PHASES, have better waveclear than Zoe right now. Supports like Sona have higher damage output. Tanks have higher damage output and better waveclear... why even play her anymore?

You would never intentionally overnerf a champ if you actually cared about balance. There are so many things you could have tried on the PBE for the several patches Zoe has been out... but did you bother? Of course not. People complained about Zoe, so you had to coddle them.