Zaahen, the newest Darkin champion in League of Legends just released on November 19th with Patch 25.23. The question is, how strong is he, and can he be played in roles other than Top Lane?
View Full U.GG Data For ZaahenWhat The Data Tells Us
Based on our data, Zaahen ranks as an S+ champion in the Top Lane across All Ranks. While he can also be played Mid or Jungle, he performs much better when he’s in the Top Lane.
To quote Phreak from the Champion Spotlight: “If you’re drawn to-unflinching champions like Illaoi, Darius, or Jax, give Zaahen a try.”
Zaahen at his core is an AD teamfighter that gets stronger the longer a fight goes on. If he’s able to reach maximum stacks during a fight, he is able to revive when killed mid-fight.
Some of his best items are Trinity Force, and Sundered Sky, though some Challenger players have been experimenting with Stridebreaker.
Top Lane Stats
| Rank | Champion Tier | Win Rate | Pick Rate | Ban Rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challenger | S+ | 53.16% | 10.5% | 25.5% | 269 |
| Grand Master | S+ | 50.99% | 9.3% | 29% | 506 |
| Master | S+ | 51.86% | 9.4% | 29.7% | 1587 |
| Diamond | S+ | 50.89% | 10.1% | 30.8% | 4146 |
| Emerald | S+ | 50.23% | 10.9% | 31.2% | 10,309 |
| Platinum | S+ | 50.09% | 11.9% | 30.1% | 19,497 |
| Gold | A | 49.85% | 12.6% | 28.1% | 31,555 |
| Silver | B | 49.78% | 13.6% | 25.2% | 34,659 |
| Bronze | S+ | 50.04% | 14.7% | 20.7% | 22,571 |
| Iron | S+ | 50.89% | 15.2% | 16.9% | 12,027 |
| All Ranks | S+ | 50.08% | 12.9% | 26.2% | 137,126 |
Top Lane Counters
Zaahen has quite a few counters, and interestingly, both Illaoi and Jax are among them, two champions that were listed as “Similar Champions” in the Champion Spotlight.
Unsurprisingly, an armor-heavy tank like Malphite counters him, as well as Teemo who can blind Zaahen and stop him from landing his Q.
Compared to other Darkin?
Finally, let’s compare Zaahen with Aatrox, another Darkin champion who also primarily plays Top Lane.
Overall, it seems that Zaahen is off to a hot start on the rift. Keep track of his best builds, stats, counters and more with U.GG.
View U.GG Zaahen Build