This is a guide to Talon, an assassin style Champion.

Through the guide I will cover my rune selection, mastery selection, the item build, skills, Summoner Spells, and a few other topics. This is a highly effective build when played correctly, with high survivability and massive damage output. ALL WITHOUT FROZEN MALLET!!!!!!!

In order to maximize this build's potential (and in my opinion Talon's potential,) Having the RED LIZARD BUFF when fighting enemy champions is crucial. It works great with your passive and allows for no survivors when you start poking people with them daggers. So when playing with your team, politely ask for Red when it comes up, because it will allow for you to thrive. Also steal the enemy's Red whenever it is safe to do so.

My personal preference is to lane with a support or a tank, but have a Solo Lane is VIABLE. In Phreak's Champion Spotlight, he mentioned that Talon's lane presence is shaky at best and it is difficult to hold a lane, but I highly disagree.

-Armor Pen Marks. Simple. A MUST for any AD class champion.
-Flat armor Seals. Allows for less harass early game when you are weakest, allowing you to farm far easier.
-Cooldown Reduction Glyphs. His cooldowns seem like an eternity for an AD champion. The cooldown reduction allows for faster burst and faster income generation.
-Critical Damage Quints. End-game relies on heavy critical strike damage, these stack VERY well.
-Flat health Quints. May be used in place of the Crit Quints, allows for a powerful lane presence and easy farming early game.

Very Standard AD Champion Masteries. Dropped 2 out of Offensive Mastery (2/4 to Minions) for 2 in Sorcery (.75/1.5/2.25/3)% Cooldown reduction for a little extra CDR.

To Address the question in Your mind... WHY NO FROZEN MALLET?!?!?!
It isn't needed. Period. With a high attack speed, Rake, and your team, your passive is up 95% of the time. Also, you should have the Red Lizard Buff (Which provides a slow) most of the time you are fighting other champions. If you are getting DESTROYED by the enemy, you may consider Frozen Mallet for an additional health option. But you shouldn't need it.

Dorans Blade - Simple. Early game pew pew and survivability. Usually stays with you until the end of the game.

Berserker Greaves - Allows for more attack speed, which is highly important end game, and allows you to chase your prey.

Trinity Force - The Backbone of the build. I start with Phage, followed by Sheen, Followed by Zeal. This item provides a surprising amount of survivability, utility, and damage. Phage used for your passive and health. Zeal for that critical strike and attack speed, and Sheen for use with Noxian Diplomacy.

Infinity Edge - No Brainer. More Crit damage is more PEW PEW.

Phantom Dancer - Get that critical strike up, along with a massive Attack Speed Bonus and Movement Speed.

Blood Thirster - Geared for end game survivability, easier farming, and a massive Attack Damage boost.

The Black Cleaver - You will rarely (If ever) get to this item. It is aimed at chewing through that end game armor of your opponents, and providing that extra little attack speed and damage to get the job done.

Talon's Skills can be a bit tricky to master. You also need to have proper placement and skill use in order to secure kills. His ultimate is a little funky, but when used properly deals massive damage.

Q - Noxian Diplomacy - The Spammer. Use this when stabbing your enemy's back. It proc's with Trinity Force and deals great damage end game.

W - Rake - The Farmer - Use this early game to get gold built up to buy those expensive items. It applies a slow to any enemy it hits, so use when chasing an enemy champion or when you have a gap in your rotation.

E - Cutthroat - The Gank/Escape - Provides a 1 second silence on your target. You will teleport behind the target and auto attack that target. Also useful when running from other champions, as you can target any enemy and teleport to them.

R - Shadow Assault - The WTF WAS THAT?! - Provides you with an AoE burst when used, you quickly become invisible for 2.5 seconds. When you attack or use an ability, the blades will come back around you dealing additional damage. Has a variety of uses.

How I play Talon:

Scenario One : Enemy knows I am there. I use E on desired champion, then AUTO ATTACK FIRST, then use Q. Noxian Diplomacy resets your attack timer, allowing for what looks like a double strike. After I use Q I use my ultimate, and wait for it to almost run out. Position yourself in front of your target so when your Ultimate wears off they are hit again by it. Right before it wears off use Rake (W) on them. By this time Q should be up again. Use it and auto attack them to death. If they run, spam rake and teleport to them as much as possible.

Scenario Two : Enemy DOESN'T know I am there. It is almost the same as Scenario one, except I use My ultimate's Stealth to run towards my target. DO NOT USE NOXIAN DIPLOMACY WHILE STEALTHED as it will break stealth and prematurely bring your blades back to you. Teleport to your target first, auto attack THEN use Q. This ensures the highest DPS rotation.

Flash - A highly useful tool for hopping those walls and such. May be substituted for Ghost.

Exhaust - Stacks with your Passive, and is great when you are fighting somebody, especially those pesky AD.

Pro's:

-Effective Farmer
-Great at breaking enemy lines
-Fun as hell to play
-Great Escape Mechanisms
-Massive Damage
-Incredibly short Ultimate Cooldown

Con's:

-When targeted, can die quickly in team fights.
-People complain about how much you kill them.
-Skills can be a bit tricky to effectively use.
-Set up is EVERYTHING!!!!