I'm aware that Zhonya's has some issues, but there's another thing at play.

So Zhonya's has some issues. Fantastic. That's that. With how quick games are now, I don't like building it regardless. In my opinion, it's an awful item. It's not even worth the slot. But here's the thing: numerically, it's fine.

Conceptually, however, it's fucking awful.

Remember, most items usually have 3-4 defining attributes. Whether it's stats, an active, or a passive, you can really bet on 2-3 significant attributes. Now there are items that grant many more than just 3, but those items are usually situational and have a lot of tack-on stats that you don't want. (Triforce circumvents this issue slightly by being AD specific.)

Zhonya's has 3 important features: armor, ap, and a "powerful" active. It's a pretty standard issue setup. 100 AP is alright on a mage item, but a lot of the cost is invested into questionable features. That's not even to mention that the armor will function very poorly if it is the only source of defense in your build.

But look at this

AP, MS, Passive

AD, MS, Passive, (+ armor pen because it has less MS than Ludens. Tack-on stat.)

AD, CDR, 2 Passives

AD, CDR, Passive (armor pen), Active

Btw, this one's free.

Armor, Health, Crit Reduction, passive, active

AD, MR, Armor Pen, 2 passives

Now this is definitely not to say that every item has the same strength conceptually, but numerically (the part Riot cares about) they are all incredibly similar.

Now let's consider this. If there is no item that supplies all the stats I want at the same time, what do I do? How about we raise that item number to two. I know it hurts to not build AP on a first item, but if you are getting your ass kicked onto your fucking neck because the "only item you can build sucks", maybe we can make a compromise.

Try these on for size.

Remember, you don't need to increase your defense per se. What you actually want is survivability, which makes health a decent alternative also. The main reason I like these items is that all but RoA (which gives AP and Health instead) and Ohmwrecker (which gives up mana for a ton of SURVIVABILITY stats and is relatively cheap to complete) give cooldown reduction, armor, mana in some form. It's definitely an option to play into base values early on with CDR to replace AP somewhat, and all the other stuff you want is covered.

I know these sound kind of strange, (especially Ohmwrecker) but maybe give them a try. Just make an informed choice about what will work with your champion, possibly come up with your own ideas, and you won't need to start the game from behind just because there is a Zed. However, if you get really scared, are always waiting.

Besides, just buying a for AP or for mana is an excellent stop gap if you REALLY want those stats early. You don't have to complete them straight away if you're not dying for a complete item bonus.

Disclaimer: Ban anyway. If he gets 140% winrate, maybe Riot will nerf his attack speed again. #DreamAMeme #BronzeWisdom #FUCKINGKILLHIM