Forum talk:Neekerivittu/@comment-5232898-20121130023251/@comment-4296199-20121201062352

not to mention that it weakens their mid to late game build. One thing that is strong for Zed in mid is that if he's successful, he can harass enemies regardless of their range. The same reason for Talon to be in mid is why Zed is in mid: they both deal high AD damage. The difference here is that Zed can stay far longer there in mid, can farm/harass safer and for longer periods of time then Talon, and has an escape option.

Also, Zed's harass comes from far away, uses energy as a resource, and can hit through minions. In order for Jayce to "harass", he either uses cannon EQ combo from afar, or hammer QE combo. EQ is blocked by minions, while QE requires Jayce to be in range and easier to retaliate against. Both combos use mana to use.

Personally, building Bruiser Zed allows him to stay in teamfights much longer and commit far more in team fights than usual. Sure, you can do that for Talon, but Zed's bonus AD from LV allows him to be a bit more flexible with building survivability.

However, I will admit that Talon is the better assassin, while Jayce is the much better bruiser. Unlike Talon, Zed has no way to prevent retaliation against him. His role at that point is to clean up team fights like Kat and Leblanc. Kat has the better late game potential and "energy" system, while Leblanc does her job faster and safer than Zed.

Jayce is just one of the most versatile bruisers period, if not the most versatile. Range, aoe haste, aoe slow, gap close, knock back, huge harass, the list goes on. Zed can't top him if all he's got is a ranged aoe slow as his only CC and an energy system.