Hey guys and welcome to my Talon guide!

I feel Talon should go mid-lane, but top lane is viable. The only reason why mid-lane Talon is preferable to top-lane Talon is because top-laners are normally bruisers, who naturally counter Talon effectively, where as most mid-laners are squishy and are able to be bursted down.

Talon is an anti-mage spell-burst attack damage carry who can decimate an AP caster in a matter of seconds.

With his ridiculously high AD ratio (+.3 AD for Noxian Diplomacy, .6 AD for Rake, .9 AD for Shadow Assault), this makes him the perfect choice to go mid lane and counter the enemy AP carry.

Let's just do some math real quick.

Once you get two Doran's Blade, your damage output will increase significantly. The two Doran's Blade combined will give you 20 AD.

That means by level 6, your Noxian Diplomacy will do 40 AD, with a bleed of 42 AD over 6 seconds, up to 82 damage in 6 seconds.

Your Rake will deal 92 AD each way, for a total of 184 damage.

And your Shadow Assault will deal 138 AD... for each blade that passes through!

And of course, you will be using your cutthroat and giving the enemy a few autoattacks.

This whole combo will do a MINIMUM of 314 damage (taking into account that there were NO autoattacks and only ONE BLADE hit your enemy when you used your Shadow Assault. We also didn't take our runes or masteries into account). And that's with only two Doran's Blade, early game. Imagine his damage output with a full build, or even just a Black Cleaver and two Doran's Blade!

See that crazy burst potential???

This is what makes Talon such a viable choice for mid. It's a shame that he isn't really seen much in games these days and here's why:

TALON MUST SNOWBALL

He cannot help his team unless he gets some early kills. He will be useless mid and late game without any kills early game (at least 2).

This guide will cover how you can achieve a strong early game as Talon, in order to wreck mid and late game.

So I hope you guys enjoy this guide as I will help you guys on how to own butt as...

Talon, THE BLADE'S SHADOW

PROS

• Amazing burst potential
• Strong early and mid game
• Can destroy most AP carries and all AD carries in seconds
• Really fun to play
• Can go in and out of teamfights with ease
• Boss at roaming
• One of the best gapclosers in the game (only while chasing)
• Ultimate has approximately 30 second cooldown with Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Black Cleaver
• Very difficult to counter in mid-lane
• Can keep lane pushed with Rake and a couple of Doran's Blade
• You can zone AP carries once they get a taste of your full combo
• Rake harass hurts a lot!
• Shadow Assault scares the $h!t out of people!
  
  CONS

• Easily harrased early game by ranged AP mids
• Weak mid and late game if denied kills early game
• Easy to zone pre-level 6
• Kind of difficult to get the hang of
• Often targeted in teamfights
• No natural escapes (unless you use Shadow Assault to go invisible or burn Flash)
• Somewhat prone to CC

Here are the runes I run on Talon. Some attack damage runes, armor and magic resist seals and glyphs, and some armor penetration quints to top it all off.
I feel runes are pretty flexible on Talon. However, here are a few no-no's:

• Ability power or magic penetration
• Attack speed (Talon isn't an autoattack champion)
• Health (He's an assassin, he's supposed to go in and out of fights as quick as possible)
• Mana runes (I find it difficult to go oom with Talon unless you spam your spells, which you shouldn't be doing)
• Critical Chance (Once again, Talon shouldn't be autoattacking)
  
  Other than that, most runes should be fine on Talon.

In the Offensive Tree:

• I get 1 point in Summoner's Wrath and 4 in Sorcery for the cooldown reduction of 4%.
• Then I get Weapons Expertise for the 8% armor penetration.
• Then 3 points in Sunder for an additional 6 armor penetration.
• And lastly, a point in Executioner for an additional 5% damage dealt to targets under 50%
  health (the perfect mastery for an assassin imo)
  
  In the Utility Tree:
• 3 points in Wanderer for that extra movement speed (you are an assassin)
• 2 points in both Mastermind and Meditation
• And finally, a point in Runic Affinity , so you can hold on to that blue and/or red buff 20% longer!
  
  I don't get any points in defense for armor of magic resist because we already have runes that help us with that.

Passive mercy: Talon's autoattacks deal 10% additional damage to any target that is slowed, stunned, immobilized or suppressed.

This is a great passive as Talon can deal additional damage once he uses Rake, or if you have an Amumu or Ashe on your team, you can deal additional damage to your enemies because their spells are CC oriented.

Q : Talon's next autoattack within the next 6 seconds deals additional physical damage. If the target is a champion they will also bleed for 6 seconds, taking additional physical damage each second and revealing their location for the duration.

Additional Physical Damage: 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 (+ 30% Bonus AD)
Total DoT Damage: 18 / 36 / 54 / 72 / 90 (+ 120% Bonus AD)
Total Additional Physical Damage With Rank 5 Cutthroat: 34.5 / 69 / 103.5 / 138 / 172.5 (+ 34.5% Bonus AD)

This deals quite a bit of damage, but it's pretty much just an enhanced autoattack. The bleed is similar to Darius's hemmorage.

W : Talon sends out a volley of daggers in a cone that then quickly return back to him, dealing physical damage to any enemies it passes through. Each enemy can only be damaged once at the start of the ability and once at the end. Additionally the enemy is slowed for 2 seconds, refreshing the duration of the slow if they are hit twice.

Physical Damage Per Hit: 30 / 55 / 80 / 105 / 130 (+ 60% Bonus AD)
Total Physical Damage: 60 / 110 / 160 / 210 / 260 (+ 120% Bonus AD)
Total Physical Damage With Rank 5 Cutthroat: 69 / 126.5 / 184 / 241.5 / 299 (+ 138% Bonus AD)
Slow: 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% / 40%

I really like the slow and this spell can be used in a variety of ways. You can slow an enemy down to catch up to them, slow an enemy down to escape from them, or just harass an enemy down with this.

E cutthroat: Talon instantly appears behind his target, silencing them for 1 second and amplifying his damage against that target for 3 seconds.

Damage Amplification: 3% / 6% / 9% / 12% / 15%

This spell has one main use, and that's to jump onto an enemy with this. The damage amplification is quite significant, up to +15%! This spell can also be used to escape. If an enemy is chasing you, simply cutthroat to them, and Flash or run away. And since they will be silenced for one second, they cannot do anything.

R : 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. When the ring of blades expands and contracts, enemies hit receive physical damage. Each enemy can only be damaged once at the start of the ability and once at the end.

Physical Damage Per Hit: 120 / 190 / 260 (+ 90% Bonus AD)
Total Physical Damage: 240 / 380 / 520 (+ 180% Bonus AD)
Total Physical Damage With Rank 5 Cutthroat: 276 / 437 / 598 (+ 207% Bonus AD)
Diameter of AoE: 1000

Probably one of my most favorite ultimates in this game. It is quite hard to master, but a boon for you and your team once you got it down. I will explain more about this ult in the Combo section.

(thanks to lol.wikia for the stats :D)

With Talon, you should always max your Rake first.

At level 3, you have the option of getting your first point in cutthroat or getting another point in Rake.

If you have been harassing your opponent fairly well without wasting much mana and you think that you could get the kill on them with cutthroat (followed by Noxian Diplomacy and Ignite if necessary]], get a point in that and try to go in for the kill.

If not, get another point in Rake and continue harassing the enemy sparingly without going oom.

After maxing Rake, go ahead and max Noxian Diplomacy, and then finish it off by maxing cutthroat.

And of course, get Shadow Assault at levels 6, 11 and 16.

OPTIMAL



These are really the only two summoner spells you should be getting for Talon. Ignite helps you secure kills, as Flash helps you get out of sticky situations or chase a fleeing enemy.

OPTIONAL



If you don't like Flash because of it's lack of distance



If you want to get to lane ASAP, instead of wasting valuable time to walk to lane



You can bait an enemy to towerdive you, then BAM, pop your heal and capitalize on their mistake.



Sometimes, it's nice to combo down the enemy under their tower and escape with 50 health ;)



Talon is prone to CC, so Cleanse can help you escape tricky situations.

NO. JUST NO



You shouldn't be going oom with Talon because you shouldn't be spamming Rake or your combo.

I guess Clarity is the only spell you don't really need as Talon. All other summoner spells are VIABLE, but Flash and Ignite are definitely the way to go.

Beginner Talon Players:
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Intermediate Talon Players:
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Advanced Talon Players:
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Talon's burst potential is quite devestating, both pre and post level 6.

Pre-level 6

--> cutthroat --> AUTOATTACK --> --> (if you think it will seal the kill)

Tips for this combo:

• Make sure rake hits the target on the way there AND on the way back
• Harass your enemy with Rake to lower their health before you go in with this combo but DON'T HARRASS SO MUCH THAT YOU FIND YOURSELF HAVING NO MANA TO FINISH THE COMBO. If you get Rake on them and then use cutthroat, but find that you don't have mana for Noxian Diplomacy, you can expect the many to use an array of spells on you once the silence wears off.
• Once you get this combo down, try doing this:
  cutthroat --> AUTOATTACK --> --> --> AUTOATTACK --> (if needed to secure the kill)
• The reason why this combo is better than the previous one is because of Talon's passive, mercy. This lets Talon deal an additional 10% damage to slowed, suppressed, stunned and immobilized targets (sadly not silenced), which they will be because of rake.
• The only reason why I suggest you master the first combo first is because this combo requires impeccable timing with Rake once you initiate with cutthroat. If you miss your rake, 50% of the damage that combo deals is gone and you've just wasted a considerable amount of mana.
• These combos can take most AP carries straight down to half health!
  
  
  

  Post-level 6

  
  
  cutthroat --> --> --> -->
  
  OR
  
  cutthroat --> --> --> -->
  
  Tips for this combo:
  • This combo will kill most AP carries
  • Try to get the enemy placed inside your ultimate to maximized the damage they take
  • If the enemy tries to run, try to stay ahead of them (which shouldn't be hard because of you bonus movement speed)
  • If you do get in front of them, press R to activate your ultimate again and let the blades converge on them
  • Both of these combos work equally well: Use the first one against your lane opponent. Use the second one when ganking a lane (scares the lane you're ganking and makes it hard for the people your ganking to target you)
    
    (Insert autoattacks where needed)

Starting Items



You should always start with these items, as it provides that mobility Talon needs, as well as a moderate form of health regeneration.

First Back

sight wardsight ward

By now, you should have about 1300 gold and maybe you're 8-10 minutes into the game. If you were forced to recall, it's fine. If you have the gold for a Doran's Blade or two, get it. If you don't, invest in Health Potion and a sight ward.

However, if you're farm is reasonable and maybe if you got a kill or two, go for these items. Ward the enemy wraiths and the brush near your wraiths. I will talk more about why you want to ward the enemy wraiths in the roaming section.

Next Items

sight ward

This should be around the 15-20 minute mark. You should be roaming now and keeping your lane pushed. Hopefully, you are successfully zoning their AP carry while farming well. If you're jungler offers you blue, think for a second: Do I have an AP/mana hungry champion on my team? If you do, ask your jungler to give them blue. If not, take it and spam your Rake and/or your combo on the enemy.

Core Items



The first towers should've fallen by now, and hopefully, you have some kills on your hand. Finish your Black Cleaver, as the stats it provides for you are amazing. You have cooldown reduction, health, attack damage and armor penetration... all in one item!

Now go ahead and finish your Bloodthirster, because it provides a nice amount of life steal. If you want the Ravenous Hydra, go ahead. I find the stats very similar to Bloodthirster, the only difference being is that the hydra has a nice active, but the bloodthirster can offer more attack damage. It's just a personal preference. I normally go for the bloodthirster though.

Late Game


Teamfights should be a common occurrence now. One team fight can make or break the game. But you should still continue to farm because money is money!

To decide whether to get Guardian Angel or Last Whisper first, run this through your head:

You are getting targeted a lot and find yourself dying a lot: Guardian Angel

Enemy notices you can bring their health to zero in 3 seconds and they start building armor: Last Whisper

6th Items



These items are all situational, according to the enemy composition. Of course, this build shouldn't be followed precisely, because each build is different according to the game. Make the judgement call on which items you will need and which ones you won't.

NO-NO's



The Phantom Dancer is definitely NOT a good idea on Talon. He isn't like Tryndamere, who autoattacks so much. So there is no need for that.

I also don't recommend the Frozen Mallet. I feel it is too costly, even though it's passive has great synergy with Talon's passive. I just fell like it puts your build way too behind.

Alternatives



Infinity Edge is good because during your burst, you autoattack a few times. With your high attack damage and the Infinity Edge's 250% critical strike chance, it's a good alternative for the Black Cleaver.

I'm not a great fan of Trinity Force, but the sheen proc on it is pretty amazing. However, Vapora did some math and found out Bloodthirster is more cost effective than the Trinity Force (link to Vapora's guide is at the bottom of this guide).

Talon has a good early game, but is susceptible to harass. So just focus on last hitting. Try not to overextend.

Once you hit level 3 or 4, try to combo the enemy if they aren't close to their turret.

If you notice the enemy initiate suddenly, be cautious for the enemy jungler. If you see the jungler at another lane and you feel confident you can take out your opponent, go for it!

When your jungler comes to gank, note that when you cutthroat to your enemy, it essentially says to your jungler "Come gank now!". So be cautious on when and how you initiate.

Once you get double dorans, ward the enemy red and ward the brush parallel to the mid lane, next to you wraiths.

Combo your enemy laner. Hopefully, they will realize how deadly you are try to stay of you cutthroat, thus denying them farm. If they don't realize that, go in on them and teach them a lesson ;)

By zoning their mid laner, push your minions to their turret so the turret takes all their experience and farm. Now you can start roaming!

Hopefully, you have warded the enemy's wraiths.

If you notice the enemy jungler going to do wraiths and notice that he has low health, there are several things you can do:

- If your mid lane is mia, you can try to 1v1 the enemy jungler. Just be careful if the enemy mid laner shows up.

-Ping your jungler or top/bot laner who is nearby. Hopefully, they will understand that enemy jungler is weak and you want to go in for the kill.

-Leave the jungler alone if you know he can take you down or if you don't want to risk it.

Before you start roaming, note if there are any lanes overextened. Ask your top/bot laners if they know the enemy has a ward there.

If they say no, go to the lane. If you can coordinate the gank with your jungler, it will make the gank all the more devestating.

If you're ganking bot lane:

-Initiate on the ADC with cutthroat (if you can only reach the support ,it's fine. Don't be picky. A kill's a kill)

-Proceed to post-level 6 combo #2

If you're ganking top lane:

-Initiate on the top laner with cutthroat and do the same thing as you would do in bottom lane

(TIP)- Sometimes, try NOT to initiate with cutthroat, so that if they burn their flash, you will still have cutthroat to chase them down.

AND NEVER ROAM IF YOUR LANE IS PUSHED! YOUR TOWER IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN GANKING LANES!

So a few turrets have fallen and little skirmishes have broken out near dragon.

Continue farming your lane.

Try to take out the enemy turret before the 25 minute mark.

Mid game normally ends when either team loses their second tier mid turret.

If you notice an enemy split pushing, try to stop them (by yourself or a couple of teammates), but don't compromise your turrets. If you think you can 1v1 the split pusher, go ahead. If not, wait for them at the tower and clear the waves. Also, try to push the minion wave back a little bit.

Once a second tier turret has fallen, the late game has begun.

Now late game has started. Stick with your team. If you get caught out of place, you have essentially screwed your team. Travel with your team TOGETHER. Hopefully, your build is coming along well and you can efficiently burst down their ADC and their mid laner. Teamfights are common now and I will explain how to effectively teamfight as Talon in the next section.

Teamfights essentially define a good Talon player from a great Talon player.

Let's say their team consists of Shen top, Nocturne jungle, Morgana mid (who you have hopefully destroyed in lane), Alistar support, Draven ADC.

Thinking in teamfights is hard, but for Talon, teamfights are always make or break situations for him. You NEED to take that extra second to think.

In teamfights, this is what you want to do as Talon:

1. Who is the biggest threat? The Draven that is 0/7/1 or their shen who is 8/2/5? In this case, DO NOT target Shen. Even though he is fed, he will do essentially no damage because he is building tanky. Go straight for the Morgana that is, say 4/6/11.

2. Ok so you bursted down Morgana, now what? Leave the teamfight. That is, don't run away. Leave the area where all the action is happening and wait for your cooldowns to come back up. Generally, you want to run behind your tank or where your adc is.

3. Ok, your cooldowns are back up. You took out Morgana, but let's say you lost your top laner, Jax. Now what? If their Nocturne is going straight for you adc, jump on him! Stop him from getting to him.

4. Ok, you stopped Nocturne and he backed off. Now what? Now you want to target Draven, even if he isn't fed. Burst him down and now hopefully, only Shen, Alistar and Nocturne are left . Now just clean up the kills.

Generally though, their ADC will be more fed, so you might want to target him first in teamfights.

The idea with Talon is that you jump on their ADC, you kill him, you run away, one person on the other team starts to follow you, and your team jumps in to save your a$$.

And probably the most important tip:

DON'T INITIATE TEAMFIGHTS!!!

Wait for your tank to initiate, then jump on their ADC or AP mid.

If and when played correctly, Talon can devestate a team in teamfights!

Well, this is the end of my Talon guide.

It was a blast working on it and I would appreciate and constructive criticism.

I really worked hard on this guide, so if you like this guide and you find that it works, vote it up please!

I plan to make a Kassadin and Garen guide soon too!

Thanks to Vapora and his excellent guide. I definitely recommend you guys to look at it. It sure helped me when I first started playing Talon : http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/updating-vaporas-guide-to-talon-220862

Thanks to lol.wikia for the Talon stats: http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Talon

And thanks to Quionn for the idea to stack Black Cleaver.

If you guys are interested in playing with me, add me!

yodahk: NA

THANKS GUYS AND ENJOY OWNING AS TALON!