Blood Moon Zed

First game I played with Blood Moon Zed was around 1 AM on a Wednesday, fresh off buying the bundle. Locked in ranked, mid lane, and the load screen splash alone had my duo saying “okay that goes hard.” Not gonna lie, Zed has a massive skin catalog at this point and I wasnt expecting much from another Epic tier addition. But this one earned its spot in my rotation fast.

What Blood Moon Zed actually brings to the table

The VFX overhaul is where Riot put the work in. Q shurikens have this deep crimson trail with ink-wash particles that dissolve mid-flight. Looks clean against the Rift, especially in river fights where the contrast pops. W shadow swap gets a blood mist burst on arrival. Subtle but you notice it after a few games.

E is probably my favorite change. The spin leaves these red slash marks on the ground that linger for a half second. In a teamfight when you’re diving the backline, it actually reads better than base Zed’s abilities. Easier to track your own damage zones when things get chaotic. Ult mark on the target has the Blood Moon mask motif, which is a nice touch. The death mark pop animation sends out these ink splatter particles. Played maybe 40 games with this skin in Diamond and the R pop never gets old.

Recall animation is solid. Zed performs this ritual blade dance with the Blood Moon mask floating above him. Short, clean, fits the theme. Voice lines stay base, no changes there. Standard for an Epic at 1350 RP.

(Random aside: the W shadow in this skin is slightly more visible than some of his other skins, which my support friend swears gives away my shadow placement. Could be coping but I dont think it matters below Master.)

The Blood Moon line and release context

Blood Moon Zed dropped April 17, 2024. Late season 14. Mo Yan nailed the splash, the composition with the twin blades and the moon behind him is wallpaper material. The Blood Moon skinline is one of Riot’s longest running thematic lines and Zed fits the assassin demon aesthetic naturally. Kinda feels like he should have gotten this skin years ago honestly.

Blood Moon already had Katarina, Thresh, Kalista, Aatrox in the roster. Zed joining that group makes sense thematically. The oni mask integration with his base design works better than most champions who got the Blood Moon treatment.

8 chromas total. Obsidian is my go-to, turns the whole palette into this dark ritual vibe that reads almost Legendary. Sapphire hits different too, the blue against the mask motif gives it a frozen demon look. Pearl exists for the people who want the clean white aesthetic but personally I think it loses the Blood Moon identity. Still in the shop, 1350 RP, permanent availability.

Should you pick up Blood Moon Zed?

Real verdict: this is a top three Zed skin. Been running this as my main Zed skin since it dropped and I keep coming back to it over Galaxy Slayer and even PROJECT. The VFX are cleaner, the theme is tighter, and the splash is S-tier.

If you’re a Zed one-trick you probably already own it. If you play Zed occasionally in ranked or just need a skin for him, Blood Moon Zed at 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. The recall, the ability VFX, the chromas give it enough value. Could be wrong here but I think this ages better than most of his catalog. Seen it showing up more in my games this season too, which tells you something.

Skip it only if you already have Prestige PROJECT Zed or the Spirit Blossom Prestige and literally never rotate skins. For everyone else maining Zed or picking him into AD comps mid, this is the lock-in. Three things stood out after weeks of play: ult pop VFX, the Obsidian chroma, recall animation. That’s your 1350 RP right there. Worth it.