Talk:Zed/@comment-15280970-20160211231409/@comment-24385282-20160217034530

Considering its passive, is way more fitting of the title "early game item" than either of  components, not to mention being cheaper than. Maw itself may be a better early game item, but especially considering the recent addition of that gives every AD assassin Zed's,  is easily an even better rush item for mages versus AD assassins than it ever was before.

Let me put it this way: for a mage facing an AD assassin, Zhonya's will be more important than Maw is for an AD assassin facing a mage. Even if Zhonya's is a worse early game item than Maw, it's still a better item for countering a specific class - and it's one that you'll need to rush.

Furthermore, blocking all damage for 2.5 seconds while allowing yourself to wait on cooldowns (something that mages rely on far more than even AD caster assassins) is far more powerful than a brief magic-only 375 shield.

Would I realize how impossible it is to kick a Maw assassin out of lane? No, I wouldn't - you're a mage. If you're a poke mage, you excel at kicking AD assassins out of lane, and the 50 MR Maw gives won't do a whole lot to stop you. Plus, their shield will be wasted when you wait until they're out of combat to continue poking them again. If you're a burst mage, you'll destroy them before they get a chance to retaliate - their Maw might (might) save them, but if it does your combo will usually be up before Lifeline is. If not, oh well, just roam bot. You got countered, in the same way you countered them when you bought a Zhonya's.

Zhonya's may be at the cost of other important stats for mages, but guess what's more important than important stats? Not dying the instant the enemy AD assassin presses a button near you. Just pick up a second early on, farm well, and don't waste spells. You'll be off worse than if you bought a - oh wait, you won't. Because you'll be alive instead of dead. And the exact same goes for the AD assassin you're up against, who has almost no sustain from Maw (10% lifesteal temporarily when Lifeline triggers). Sustain is much more important for the melee assassin up against the ranged mage than it is to their opponent.

I'm not sure about you, but most of the time when I play a mage, it only takes about one or two spells to keep myself from being pushed and land most if not all of the CS. With 30 seconds between waves and the mana restoration from good CS with my Doran's Ring, it's not really an issue.

TL;DR: The AD assassin who rushed Maw is facing the exact same problems our Zhonya's first-buy mage is, except they're even worse off due to being melee and the fact that Zhonya's counters harder than Maw.

And please stop saying that they lose out on damage for purchasing one of the highest AP items in the game. I understand you mean that they need CDR and mana regen to spam their spells, but most of the champions who truly do need spam to work effectively can get by with a Ring or two, or they can just get blue buff. Often they can simply conserve their spells and be only slightly weaker for the lack of spam.