Hey guys, I just thought I'd introduce my way of playing Talon mid.
How come he is a "Punisher" ? , I hope my guide will answer most of your questions.
What this guide will bring to you:
- Understandings of harrassing mid.
- Best choices of items.
- Ofc, Pros & Cons (Simply the same as For and Against)
- Talons abilities
With more!

Let's first talk about one of the best AD Bursters in this game, let me see, mhmm Talon!
However, I'll start out by telling you, this guide is not very long, and it's just a push forward to carrying as mid Talon!

Talon

Talon is, what we all know, an assassin, and one of the best AD Bursters in Riot's history, He is no sustain fighter, no tank. His style is to go in and go out, let team do the rest!
But how can you go in and go out when its a 1v1 mid, and youre limited on place and time. Simple, Use your W to harras from long, when the person is under half health, you should most likely be lvl 3 and able to use E to jump and silence, then Q and hit once, then run a little, and use W, then run for turret and see how that went, keep going untill the person is dead or recalled.
(Farming is very important)

Talons role in game:
Talons role in game is to kill the adc and the support.
Unlike the adc, which is a sustain fighter, which means he deals damage all way through fight. Talon bursts, which is deal an amount of dmg, equal to that a little bit lower than what an adc can deal under a teamfight, in just a few moments. The adc who can or cannot decide the teamfights winner or loser is really good to get rid off, so whos our target? The adc! Targeting the tank is definetely gonna get you killed as you are not ment for taking damage nor being tanky.

I won't really put your mind on only playing him assassin, theres alot of opportunities, however I myself can carry a team, all through late game just by this play style.

- Pros (For) -
- Awfully good ganking opportunities.
- Counters the most AP mid laners.
- Big Bursts and Nice Auto Attk. Damage.
- Stable and Mobile Champion.

I have chosen to add one more Pros than Cons, this is not to make you believe that he is
quite better than anyone else, no.
This guy is most alike Kassadin, Who is an AP BURSTER and ANTIMAGE. This guy however, can stand up to Kassadin and is an brilliant antimage too. So ofc I'd definetely choose Talon to counter Kassadin mid!

- Cons (Against) -
- Bad against Bruisers and AD Early game -Start of Mid Game.
- Can be low on mana, and most likely easy to kill.
- Requires some sort of experience to play. (Simply just skills)
- Squishy and Focused most of time Late game.

Talon deals 10% additional damage with his autoattacks to any target that is slowed, stunned, immobilized or suppressed.

This passive is ONLY for autoattacks, however with Noxian Diplomacy Q It deals an extra amount of damage.
So a nice combo would be W E Q or E Q W, With Spellblade E Q is ofc more burst.
Should also wait for teammate to CC (Crowd Control skills, such as Slows, Stuns and so on..) and gain the Mercy Bonus.
Talon's next autoattack deals 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 (+0.3 per bonus attack damage) additional physical damage. If the target is a champion, they will bleed, taking 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 (+1.0 per bonus attack damage) over 6 seconds and revealing their location for the duration.

Maxing this as your second priority next to W is needed. Remember this is your main burst dmg since it works with your passive. Always use it after Cutthroat E
Talon sends out a volley of daggers in a cone that then quickly return back to him. This attack deals 30 / 55 / 80 / 105 / 130 (+0.6 per bonus attack damage) physical damage every time it passes through an enemy. Additionally, the enemy is slowed by 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% for 2 seconds.

Now we are at the point of where i get serious. Talon, The mid harasser. Without Rake I'd be losing most of my games. This harass, from lvl 1 (Versus ap champs), let's me scare the enemy champ, plus it's for farming minions. Late game this will be really good. You wanna focus this as your main skill from lvl 1 and max it first. After bursting with cutthroat and Noxian Diplomacy wait for your enemy to try to get away, they can't dodge Rake while running backwards, that's when you use it. This is also a very popular cc, it slows and procs your Mercy. A E W Q Combo is therefore also available for bursting, however when they are slowed you should try to auto attack them for how long you can. (The duration of the slow should be remembered for safety purposes). A maxed Rake Can easily kill your enemy minions with the help of about 70-90 ad, plus runes and masteries.
Talon instantly appears behind his target, silencing them for 1 second and amplifying his damage against that target by 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 % for 3 seconds.

Cutthroat Opens alot of possibilites. Early game AND Late game. Not only will this be your engaging attack, It'll also be your saving, Running away from enemy base you might encounter their minions, E will give you a "jump". Anyway, also the other way around, someones running and you ain't in range? Well it's ok, just either first try to Cutthroat them, if that is out of range, use it on enemy minion and finish with Rake, Not there yet? Flash then Cutthroat And I'm sure you are right next to him, Else you have been chasing someone from a too long distance and are too gready, stop it! You ain't a chaser!
Talon disperses a ring of blades outwards and gains stealth for up to 2.5 seconds while gaining 40% movement speed. When Talon emerges from stealth, the blades converge on his location. Each time a blade passes through an enemy, they take 120 / 170 / 220 (+0.75 per bonus attack damage) physical damage. Each enemy can only be damaged once at the start of the ability and once at the end.

Maxing this is what we call "First Priority", however we do R W Q E, but actually we can't add R as an priority since we can only choose it once every 5 lvls from lvl 1. I usually use Shadow Assault As a finish if someones running or if I have to disappear and the enemy is low health, also good if you're dieing and you have to assist you team and you're in middle of the teamfight, use Shadow Assault and try to run.
Always remember that you can increase your ult every 5 lvls from lvl 1.
1+5 = 6 6+5 = 11 11+5 = 16

I always use Shadow Assault to remove focus after bursts in middle of teamfights. E Q W R, and they will stop focusing me and I can run out. As told above, we are an assassin, and we only came to kill adc and burst the enemies.

That's it for the skill explanations and combo sequences.
I hopefully taught you why I call Talon the Mid Harasser!

As another matter of fact, remember that, I have never said anything about there being no possibility for other items.

However, for playing assassin, you have to have a build which can fulfill that position.

Core Items:

Boots
The Brutalizer
Black Cleaver
Bloodthirster
Last Whisper

Other opportunities and Choices:

Boots:

Mercury's Treads
Mercury's Treads are the most popular shoes for Talon, but not only that, they are most
suited for him to be an assassin. Standing in a bad position, your'e ****ed if you get cc'ed.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity
These are also OK for Talon, especially if you wanna be bursting 24/7, because ofc Cooldown reduction is good for any burst champ. Talon has some ok high cooldowns early game, but I always upgrade my shoes late game, so I basically never needed to use Boots of Lucidity.

Mobility Boots
I think Mobility Boots are more for gankers, so if you buy those you should gank more than laning, well that is also suited for an assassin. But you also has an responsibility as a mid champ carry. Don't forget that these WON'T WORK IN TEAMFIGHTS!

Defensive Items:

Guardian Angel
This really comes in handy when you enter late game, You will be focused like **** because of your burst to take down their adc. And you already have enough damage with the The Brutalizer / Black Cleaver & Bloodthirster, So basically some amour and 30% more health is, let's call it VERY MUCH OK!

Mercurial Scimitar
This is good against teams with ****load of CC, I'd be replacing it with my last bought burst item.
(My last bought burst item is usually Ravenous Hydra

Bursting Items:

Infinity Edge
Still I'd be recommending Ravenous Hydra , But this will benefit your burst with E Q or w/e your combo sequence is. However, its viable!

Bloodthirster
One more can't be bad, I mean srsly, This thing is like hell itself.
Look at it ! 100 AD more doesn't do any bad.
However again, I'd like to tell you that Ravenous Hydra is dominating this item too.
BUT I THINK THAT ITS IMPORTANT AS A CORE ITEM.
(I also only buy this if game is ending soon and I have 3k gold, It is after all 500 gold cheaper than Hydra!)

Ravenous Hydra
This might be the most bursting last item you'll get for Talon.
Since Season 3 this item has been dominating all the old so called burst items. Not only is this good for burst assassnis, but any ****ing champ, Takes 100% of you AD and deals it in physical dmg. Well, already with Black Cleaver + Bloodthirster + Last Whisper + Ravenous Hydra That would be 270 AD in physical, but ofc you have about 300+ AD at that time. So let's see, MHMMM Sure 300 Extra dmg when bursting, seems legit ?
(One problem, Don't pick this as AP nor Ranged!, Please read it's description. (MELEE ONLY).. )

Farming is one of the most important things to do in a game.
Early game you will have to let your minions dmg them to low health, then last hit.

(CS = Creep Score, Also meaning Minion Kills)

Late game after you have gotten the B. F. Sword (My build), and has maxed Rake, You will be able to use Rake and kill minions instantly, If not then you have done something wrong.
At Low ELO Farming ain't such a great thing, but mastering this skill early is the key to carrying a team.
(Other runes than the ones at top can be used if you can't kill them instantly after B. F. Sword.)

Watching minions get low on health can be done in two ways.
1. Click S to stop motion/movement.
2. Walk around minions and keep in motion without stopping and letting your champ auto-attack minions.

is quite easy to counter and beat at Mid Laning.
You see is lacking both Armour and Health early game.
If you are good at dodging ranged spells then keep dodging her Flash Frost early game and you will most likely win against her.
This guy should be an easy mid. When he has maxed his Terrify & Bountiful Harvest You might be a little screwd if you didn't dominate him early game. Don't let him get fed by minions nor xp.
However coutnering Fiddle is easy. When his Terrify is over, you can burst him with Cutthroat (E) and interrupt his drain while bursting him, and since he is low health it's a kill. Normal Combo Sequence should be able to take him down.
Since Galio is always building Magic Resist because of his passive, which will help him counter any AP Carry, However we ain't AP, So you should have no problem doing him. If this idiot starts stacking armour, then gg you win. Galio isn't fit for tanking. He only builds Magic Resist because he gains DMG and can counter any AP with it. Galio is an AP Carry and is useless any other way.
This is tooo easy. Most noobs farms with Karthus and pushes lane, which allows Talon to burst him like a million of times. And the only times where youre screwd, when you have killed him too many times, forgot to recall, and you die to his passive when he rage after his third dead.
This guys won't be ANY PROBLEMS.
Ezreal, This Ezreal, If you ever meets him mid, then laugh at him.
This guys only opportunity is to harass with Q, but if you stay behind minions, you can burst and harrass him at lvl 3 like nothing. He is easy, also being able to dogde his spells will definetely benefit you great. He is also quite low on health from start.
The only thing about Ahri, is her triple ult. She can most likely counter your second phase of ult, and your Rake with her ult. But else Ahri should be a easy mid lane if you dodge her Orb of Deception

Mid harassing is any champ who is able to harass.
Most AP Champs are able to harass because of their spells that has to fit
any AP Champ.

Talon is something else, he is AD, and his special power to win Mid lane, is Rake, simply
harassing with Rake untill lvl 3 and you most likely will be able to burst with an easy combo sequence. (Easiest that you should learn is E Q W, and you have to use it frequently.)

Mid Harassing will also hit your minions, but don't worry! At lvl 5 when I get ganked, I tend to get a kill because the Jungler comes unprepared for an AD burst, and has about half his health, while I still have 80%+ because of my pots that I've used while bursting the AP Carry.
So the Jungler is an easy kill, and usually tries to get out of bush from your turret, hurry run to him and burst him with an E Q W, only thing you have to remember is, that when you use your Rake, this time it might not be him running backwards, so you have to run forwards to your turret.