Hey guys. This is my first guide. I created it because I simply love Talon. I mean, He can get a squishy's Health bar down to shred's in nothing with his . If we combine this with a 's proc, the damage becomes unbelivable. His can both harrass and slow his enemies. Ever hated a Katarina who shunpoed on you? Well, with Cutthroat you'll wish it was her the one you're fighting with, since aside from getting to your location, Talon's Cuttrhoat also has a silence! That combined with his passive Mercywell... you do the math.

I would like to add that this might NOT be the best way to play him, it's just the one that fits my own playstile, and i felt like sharing it with you guys.


PROS
- Excellent Harrasser.
- Fast squishy Decimator
- Overpowered damage Early, Mid and Late game.

CONS
Easy to kill if you don't grab Doran's blade.
Not the easiest champ to master.


So far that's pretty much it, lol. We'll see if they don't nerf him on the next patches.

Be aware that this is nothing but an example guide. You might find yourself building somethimg completely different if the situation requires so. Personally i can even take off a Sheen and take the black cleaver instead, or replace the trinity force for a Madred's razor. As said; adapt to survive, survive to kill. Kill to win.

I take a pretty default Rune build. Starting from attack damage and later attack speed.

For masteries, i take upgraded Exhaust since at early levels it does some great synergy with your ulti, making it easier to get a kill if your Cutthroat is on cooldown. Besides that, i pretty much focus in a default AD champ's mastery build.
As for the utility Tree, i focus on mana regen and add a point for Utility Mastery , since at the beginning of the game it'll be of great advantage to have an upgraded red buff before we get our own CC items in order to fully take advantage of Mercy.

IMPORTANT

: First of all, there is something you need to know. Talon is NOT superman, he is NOT tanky. If you go and rush into an enemy at early levels you will certainly die. Obviously this only applies to champions with really big health pools like or . This also applies to most of champions who are using a Doran's Shield. You obviously won't be taking as much care to any of those to a fleeing level one delicious with an Amplifying Tone.

That clear, let's move on.

Early Game

At level one, i get . This'll help me to faster farming and harrassing. In the future, i'll be posting images on the best ways to use this skill.

On 2nd place, i get Which will improve your farming. Remember that it helps you reveal enemy champions plus gives them an AoE, so don't be afraid to use it often.

So far, your combo is: Rake > Normal Attack > Noxian Diplomacy.
Rake To Harrass the wave AND the champion (If possible). When they are slowed, you give a Normal hit and immediately use Noxian Diplomacy.

Level three is when the fun begins, but hey! The party it's still on warmup stage.
In this level you will put a point in Cutthroat. With this, you will begin kicking ***.

Now our Combo goes like this:
If enemy Champion is in range: Rakke > Cutthroat > Normal Attack > Noxian Diplomacy.

If Enemy Champion isn't in range: Cutthroat > Normal Attack > Noxian Diplomacy > Rake > Normal Attack.

Rinse and Repeat.
This combo changes a bit after level 6 that is when you get , but that skill is so awesome that i'll dedicate a whole chapter for it.

Oh yeah, shadow assault. This is your- no, MY baby. It can be used to virtually anything. You can use it to gank from the bushes without being seen, hit and slow your enemy with Cutthroat just before finishing your enemy with a normal attack followed by Noxian Diplomacy. Bam, enemy dead. How long it took? About 3 seconds? Win, my friend, win.

Anyways, that is not the only function of shadow assault. Picture this: your whole team popped a fight at baron. The tank is dead, Jarvan is taking heavy damage and won't take long before he is dead. You are surrounded and hope seems to be lost... Or maybe Not? As said, your Shadow Assault has many uses. Use cutthroat to the farthest en enemy and Shadow Assault your way out.You might not act as the hero of the movie, but hey! At least they are 300 gils missing and there is someone to protect the towers. Oh, wait! You are using my guide, right!? Well, get back there soldier! with this build and blue buff you'll have an insanely OP R using rate, which means you can actually go and dive to steal baron with your R and ignite just when baron's hp is really low. Remember what i said about Talon not being Superman? SCREW IT. Of course baron had to be warded, and a Quicksilver Sash or cleanse as summoner spell are HIGHLY recommended. You also need to ask yourself the basic questions. Otherwise, dont try this at home.

Other thing to take into account is never rush into a fight you know you are going to lose. I can't express how stressful it is to see other Talons Jump into their doom. As Talon you are an initiator, not a damage soaker. You have to wait for the tank to initiate the fight before jumping into the fight. And even into those cases, you ALWAYS have to make the most basic questions:
Can i kill that champion?
Can i kill them both?
Should i flee or should i stay and fight?
Can the tower protect me from the enemy fire?
Are my cooldowns up or down?
Do i have enough magic ressistance and HP to live from Annie's combo?
Should i wait...?
These are nothing but examples of what it's important in a normal game.
Remember; Wisdom is Power. Knowing your enemy is knowing the way to victory. The more you know your enemy, the easier it'll be to counter him.

These are not definitive, perhaps not even the best. Simply the spells that work for me and i've seen on most of the guides i've read. If you got any tips, suggestions, rants or anything, please post a comment to let me know. (:

The Epic Win Spell List

• I take an upgraded Exhaust in most of the games, since it helps you slow those fleeing enemies when using your Shadow Assault or simply for making it easier to do your Noxian Diplomacy & Cutthroat combo.
  
• Some games, i Might take ignite instead of Exhaust, since at early levels it gives a lot of help giving that last hit to those annoying killing runners. xP
  
• I take a flash for easier tower diving, escaping, combining with ulti, doing my homework, rocking your brain out, does the dishes... Flash's a really good spell.

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No, is THE definitive summoner's spell.

Some other (Semi) Useful Spells.

Personally i don't take this item, since I can simply get a Quicksilver Sash to do the job, but when fighting againist really heavy caster teams, it might save your life.

Even though useful, i don't think it's the best choice for Talon, because i take priority on Flash and Ignite/Exhaust. However, it's a nice asset to your slots. If i were to choose, i'd take this instead of Flash.
Even though Talon does have a need for mana, is not that big for taking Clarity as your summoner spell. All you gotta do is calculate on how much you can spam your abilities until you get the Sapphire Crystal for your Sheen.

The If-You-Take-Any-Of-This-I'll-Go-To-Your-House-And-Give-You-A-Roundhouse-Kick Spell list.

• No, please don't. No, don't..... No.
• *Facepalms*... No.
• ._.U.... NO!
• Still unavailable, but soon to be usable when Dominion comes out. It really isn't THAT much of a bad skill, but it's more useful for Tanks and support champions. As a carry you won't really be needing it.
• I must admit that Smite is The Flash skill of the junglers, for this Talon guide is not really as useful, since i personally don't use him for jungles. Even though if suggestions of a jungling talon arise, i'll gladly post them.
• These aren't really a bad spells... But they were made for tanks and supportive champions, which you are not...

I always get a Doran's blade at the spawn pool, since it gives you a huge health advantage early game. Also it gives the same damage of a long sword plus a (tiny) life steal ability.


Most of the guides start with These beauties as a first item. However, i think that earlier survavility is more important, so i take them second place. Why? Because It wouldn't be much use to have a nice pair of pretty shoes to brag to your friends, or run around here and there if for missing 100 health you end up lying in your own pool of blood...


I always rush a Phage just after getting my boots, so i can get full advantage of Mercy.


Oh sheen... The beautiful and deadly sheen. This will be your bread and butter item. Everytime you pop up your Noxian Diplomacy, sheen's effect will proc, helping you get that extra push you were missing.


I think getting an early B.F. Sword is quite helpful, since the damage you'll be doing by now (which was insane for early game, btw) will only multiply. Now go grab a and start saving for your . Done? Well, you can now say that your core build is finished and say hello to mid game~!

Available Soon.

I take these most of the games, both for the magic ressistance and the passive, since it can help you escape from the most troublesome scenarios.

If the enemy team doesn't have more than 2 heavy CC champions, i'll take these beauties. The reason is that the attack speed can become very handy with the build.

If even after getting Mercs you're taking heavy magic damage, a good choice is to buy first a Negatron Cloak and later convert it into a BV.

This is a great item for Talon. I always get this item late game when my enemies are stacking lot's of armor.

This can be a good alternative to Banshee's veil in early game.

Other Optional Items

These are items that although useful, you might not need in most games.

If you're feeling like a boss and think no one can beat you, this is the item for you. It gives nice damage plus a good movement speed bonus after the 20 stacks.

I'll take this if my team really needs more attackspeed.

I'll get this item alongside the black cleaver if my team needs more attack speed.

What items NOT to take.

I personally recommend these boots to characters with good escape mechanisms, such as Twitch who can pop up his Ambush to get away or Alistar Who can use the infamous & combo to escape scratchless.

Most people confuse the importance of speed with survivality. Even though BoS give you a decent movement speed, you will always be a moving target for the heavy CC champions. Why? Simple. Talon does NOT have a reliable(Note reliable as i'm referring to Cutthroat since it can be used to get away, but only in very few and counted cases) escape mechanism besides his . Even though These babies give you an overall speed advantage over , The extra push is not THAT big, plus mercury's give out a HUGE protection againist those heavy caster teams. If you were to buy these boots, i'd strongly recommend to grab a Quicksilver Sash for the extra .
Although Talon's mana pool isn't precisely huge, the cost-benefit of this item is not worth it, as the attack damage you get from it is really sloppy.

I always start with a Doran's Blade. Then i get my Mobility Boots and a Ruby Crystalor a Sapphire Crystal, depending if i'm in a urge of using my abilities a lot or i need extra survivality. Then i finish my Phage and move on to finish a [item=Sheen]. Then if i'm doing good i'll get a B. F. Sword followed by a Vampiric Scepter. If i'm lacking a bit of survivality i'll get a Giant's Belt To later finish my Frozen Mallet. Then i'll get a Bloodthirster or a Black Cleaver depending if i need to build raw damage or attack speed. Then it's time for start getting armor pen, so i begin building my Youmu's with a The Brutalizer for the cooldown reduction. If the game is still on and my enemies have way too much armor resist, I get the job done with a finished Last Whisper.

This is a build that came to my head after a few trials and error. Still needs work to be done, so i'm not posting the description yet.

I created this guide out of the blue, but depending on people's reaction, i might upgrade it later on.

Here will appear the people who used my build to achieve great results.

1 vs 1: No, you can't. You are pretfy muchdead, that's it. N- No, don't try to argue with me, no.
2 vs 1 Chances are low, but if enemy Talon is stupid enough and cutthroats one of you, all that there is to hope is that Shadow Assault was on cooldown. Remember that he is stronger if he rakked both of you, so extra advice is recommended.