
[Season 10] Yamikaze's Challenger Talon Guide
By Yamikaze | Updated on November 29, 2019





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Runes:












+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+15-90 HP (lvls 1-18)
Items
Ability Order

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Here is a (more updated) version in video form: |
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Lastly, before moving on with the guide, below is a Talon montage if you're interested in what he can do.
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Currently,




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This is a MUST HAVE for ![]() |
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I run this into almost every matchup. ![]() ![]() |
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I usually only run this into ![]() ![]() ![]() |


This passive is a large percent of your damage in fights. It is very important to proc passive in a combo unless they are low enough that you are sure you don't need it. Whether you can proc your passive on a target in a fight will almost always make the difference between a kill or a 200 hp squishy that heals to full. The way this passive works is you need to hit an enemy champion or epic monster (baron/dragon) 3 times with abilities (your auto-attacks don't count) and then auto attack them (now, your abilities don't count). Check out the combo section for easy combos to proc your passive. NOTE: Every time you hit an enemy champion, you refresh the duration of stacks on that enemy. If you extend a fight long enough at level 1, you can actually proc ![]() ![]() |
This ability has two parts. Its standard cast is from range, which is basically a leap. Keep in mind the range is pretty low (around the same range as a lot of adcs), meaning you will often have to flank to reach a target rather than run at them. ![]() |
This is your primary way to trade and farm in lane. Hitting both parts of ![]() ![]() ![]() Here's an example of W-Q and W-F-Q in lane to help clarify what I'm talking about (I'll embed this video again in the combo section): |
Imo, this is the one skill that separates decent Talon players (~diam 4 to diam 2 players) and good Talon players (~Master+). This is one of the highest potential skills in the game, allowing pretty broken amounts of mobility. However, it also limits your 1v1 potential in lane as you only have 3 abilities (including ult) while most mid laners will have 4. In order to play Talon optimally, you need to abuse the roaming strengths of your e. Use it to walk around common ward spots, use it to catch out the enemy jungler as he's clearing camps, use it to sneak up on your laner when he returns from a roam or from lane, etc. Read the "Roaming with E" section to for gank paths. |
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I almost always start this item just for the extra damage in lane. Whether you choose to run ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Once again, another lane sustain item. This item is extremely strong into matchups such as ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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After the Doran's Shield buffs, there's really no reason to ever run this item over dshield. |

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Unless you plan on buying ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Usually you want to buy this either between ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Buy this around your second back if you have enough gold. However, if you don’t, buy ![]() ![]() |

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Although Duskblade use to be Talon's first item, the Season 8 rune changes have made Ghostblade a better buy. Since ![]() ![]() |
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This item is usually bought third (after Ghostblade and Tabi/Mercs). The passive gives your first auto an extra ~200 damage and the lethality will also allow you to negate enemy armor and enables lots of burst. Use the vision denial passive on ![]() |
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Although this used to be a situational item, this is almost always my third item after the Black Cleaver changes (to make it give more tankiness and less damage) and a small buff to Edge of Night's active cooldown. Once again, since Talon's main objective is to kill a squishy in a teamfight, the lethality and spell shield will be vital to finishing off slippery targets like ![]() ![]() |

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A situational item that you buy early on (around the time you finish ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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A situational item that you rush before ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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A situational item that you should only buy when the enemy SQUISHIES are stacking armor (e.g. an ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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ONLY buy this item if all of the requirements for ![]() |


Before going into anything else, I'm going to list and explain all of Talon's possible combos.

NOTE: In this section, AA stands for auto-attack and Q W E R are abilities. mQ is Melee ![]() ![]() ANOTHER NOTE: You can sneak an extra auto-attack after Q for more damage in many of these combos if necessary. FURTHER NOTE: If this long list of combos confuses you, just focus on the first 4 until you get the hang of Talon. |
Combo #1
Trading in Lane WITHOUT Shadow Assault
Combo #2
Trading in Lane WITHOUT Shadow Assault
NOTE: Back off after the Rake versus ranged matchups. Versus melee, walk with them to make sure your second w hits.
Combo #3
Full Combo with Dodge
NOTE: Dodge after your R. Use this combo vs abilities you must dodge such as



Combo #4
Full Combo with Maximum Damage
NOTE: After you Rake and Shadow Assault, walk up to them and AA - Noxian Diplomacy- AA for the Blade's End proc.
Combo #5
Full Combo with Maximum Speed
NOTE: This combo is








Combo #6
Chase Combo
NOTE: So the way this combo works is you sacrifice the damage from the first part of your Shadow Assault for the 40% movespeed to catch a running target. Keep in mind that your damage will be weaker than the other combos. Make sure to cancel the autoattack that goes off automatically after your ranged Noxian Diplomacy ends for a quick Rake to proc Blade's End.
Combo #7
Proc'ing Blade's End WITHOUT Rake
NOTE: Use this combo ONLY when you don't have Rake available. The trick to this combo is that if you cast your ranged Noxian Diplomacy at max range, your Noxian Diplomacy and the second half of your Shadow Assault will close at the same time, enabling the auto after your Noxian Diplomacy to proc Blade's End.
Combo #8
Wall jump into Full Combo
NOTE: Since you can cast your Shadow Assault in the middle of your Assassin's Path, use Shadow Assault before you land and then walk up to aa-mQ-aa and throw a Rake on the way out.
Combo #9
Wall jump into Dodge/Chase Combo
NOTE: Dodge after you ult. Again, this is useful into targets that will attempt to hit you with a skillshot after you land. Further, if they aren't close to the wall or if they Flash away, you can use ranged Noxian Diplomacy to chase them down.
Here's an excellent Talon combo video to showcase some of these combos:

Level 1
- Always start with a point in
Rake.
Noxian Diplomacy first used to be viable but the nerfs earlier this season hit it too hard.
- In melee matchups, walk up and aa-mQ-aa. This will trigger
Electrocute and guarantee a won trade. If you aren't sure you will win the trade, simply bait out an enemy ability then go in when it's on cooldown.
- In Ranged matchups, be careful of their early poke and stay far back. Farm the first 3 melee minions all at once with the first part of
Rake and try to hit the enemy laner with both parts of your
Rake.
Level 2
- The Level 2 Cheese: Hit an enemy champion with both parts of
Rake and then
Flash to melee
Noxian Diplomacy followed by an autoattack. This will kill almost every mid laner if you have been poking them with
Rake level 1. Another way to use this cheese is to simply ranged Q, aa, W, and walk up to auto once they've been slowed by the second half of W.
- Play slightly more aggressive and don't be afraid to leap forward with ranged
Noxian Diplomacy to trade.
- Against melee matchups, autoattack - melee
Noxian Diplomacy - autoattack will do insane damage and can often lead to a kill.
Level 3
- Take a point in
Rake if the lane is pushed towards you or is pushing towards you.
- Take a point in
Assassin's Path if the lane is pushed towards the enemy laner or is pushing towards them.
- Start to play a bit less aggressive. Many mid laners such as
Taliyah have a massive damage spike at level 3 as they are able to level all 3 of their abilities. However,
Talon only has 2 abilities to trade with so he will begin to lose trades.
- The Level 2 Cheese will still work but be a bit more wary.
Level 4
- Take a second point in
Rake if you haven't already.
- Take a point in
Assassin's Path if you haven't already.
Level 5
- Take a third point in
Rake
- Watch your experience bar and try to hit level 6 before the enemy mid. If you are able to catch them out when you are level 6 and they aren't, you will almost always be able to kill them.
Level 6
- Always take a point in
Shadow Assault.
- Start looking for solo-kills in lane with full combos.
- Look for roams with your
Shadow Assault or try to kill the enemy jungler by walking into the enemy jungle and warding it (be careful! only do this if you are sure you will win the 1v1 and then survive the mid lane follow-up).
Level 7
- Take a fourth point in
Rake
- Assuming you have
Serrated Dirk in your inventory, you can now 1-shot back line casters if you have the
Serrated Dirk passive up.
Level 8
- Take a second point in
Noxian Diplomacy
- Be wary of throwing
Rake, as you will not be able to 1-shot the enemy caster minions and they may die to your minions before you can autoattack them.
Level 9
- Take a fifth point in
Rake
- You can now consistantly 1-shot the enemy caster minions. This makes your roams much stronger as you can shove the wave faster.

Generally, the start of midgame is marked by a bot tower falling. When this happens, be sure to trade lanes with your ADC and support. It is much easier for





When you play



This section will demonstrate proper roam paths on Talon with Assassin's Path. Green dots are common trinket spots for the ENEMY. Pink dots are common











In this section, I will go over proper Talon MACRO play including "split pushing", slow pushing, playing from behind


- Great waveclear with
Rake
- REALLY hard to catch out due to
Assassin's Path and
Shadow Assault
- Great at 1v1'ing squishies
- Great at matching waveclear against stronger splitpushers such as
Jax or
Fiora
- MOST importantly: Great at joining fights late!
The reason why I put "splitpushing" in quotations is that



You want to start splitpushing on


Generally speaking, this style of "splitpushing" is most efficient when you are even or ahead of the enemy team. However, if you are behind, scroll down and read the "playing from behind" section.

Slow pushing is a tactic used by many very high elo players to set up waves in their benefit. Have you ever been dancing at Baron and wished that the gigantic enemy bot wave crashing at your tower could be crashing at the enemy tower instead? Well, with a bit of smart minion wave manipulation, you can! Allow me to explain.
If your team has more minions, then your team's minions will slowly kill off the enemy minions at a faster rate than that your minions are being killed off. As a result, your wave will slowly grow in size as more minion waves continue to join. The longer you can hold a large wave in one place, the more minion waves will build up. As a result, you can easily set up a side wave to push into the enemy tower by simply clearing the ranged caster minions with one

Now, you might be asking, "why do I want to give the enemy a large wave?" Well, the answer is simple. SOMEONE on the enemy team has to clear this wave. If you are able to time a minion wave so that it will slowly build up and crash into the enemy bot tower while both teams are dancing at baron, the enemy team will be forced to either send someone to defend (and make the proceeding fight a 5v4) or to give up the turret as it falls to your minion wave. The reason why



Ok, you got ganked early or messed up the lane. Now you're staring at your 0-4 score wondering what you can do next. Well, due to

- If you are behind with an ap heavy team (e.g. you have a fed ap top/jungle), the enemy team will stack magic resist. As a result, you will be able to do a ton of damage and should continue to look for fights by calling for your team to group and getting a good flank in a teamfight.
On the other hand, if you have a full ad team composition, the enemy team will be stacking armor, making fights nearly impossible. Here, you will be forced into aFiora or
Jax style splitpush. Push for as long as you can to catch up and get out if anyone you can't fight comes to your lane.
- If the enemy has a squishy that is just as far behind as you are, you should call for a group and flank to kill the squishy. Since the enemy squishy is also behind, they will not be able to survive your burst and you can remain relevant in teamfights.
On the other hand, if the enemy squishy is doing well or is really fed, you should once again pretend to beNasus and farm a side wave. Alternatively, if your team wants to group, you can join a fight late and clean up the squishy when the enemy peel and crowd control have been used.

You will want to start every teamfight flanking both teams. A flank behind the enemy team is preferable but you just have to make sure the enemy front line isn't between you and the enemy squishies. Once the fight begins, watch and wait for the enemy frontline to use their CC (like







Here's a hypothetical situation: You've made it past all the enemy CC. Now you can use your full combo to delete one squishy from the teamfight. Do you kill the 10-3-5 Ryze, the 2-3-8 Lucian, or the 0-1-10 Janna? Well, even I couldn't tell you which one to go for. Your mistake was not picking a target before the start of the fight.
Before a fight starts, you want to first consider which enemies you can even 1-shot. This list will usually include the enemy mid, bot, and support. From this list, you want to find the biggest threat to your team. This is usually the enemy that does the most damage but could also include the

Now, you've narrowed down your list of targets to 1 or 2 (in our hypothetical situation, this would be Ryze and Lucian). First, check for items like



Another factor high elo players consider are summoner spell cooldowns. This can be a bit overwhelming if you're newer to the game, but timing summoner spells are incredibly important once you get to around Diamond 1 or above. It's actually pretty simple. To do this, make sure to have your chat timestamps enabled. For example, if the enemy Syndra flashes, click on the flash on the scoreboard (lets say, hypothetically, she flashes at 13:30). Then, when you're walking to lane or backing, simply add 5 minutes to the flash timestamp. Afterwards, type something like "mid f 1830," with 1830 meaning 18:30. You can do the same with heal (4 minute cd), barrer (3 minute cd), teleport (5 minute cd), ignite (3.5 minute cd), and etc. Remember that



Although most people think of Talon as a mid laner, he's also very strong top lane (whether he's stronger top or mid, well, that'll depend on who you ask!). Learning how to play top is really good if you plan on playing Talon as your main (or even one-tricking him), as you will need to queue for two roles in ranked. Be warned, top talon has a very different playstyle from mid and won't be an easy transition if you're only familiar with mid. There are many high elo Talons that play almost only top simply because of how different the two roles are (and it's much easier to queue for top than mid in the highest elos).
Another (arguably more important) argument to playing Talon Top over Mid is that the enemy top laner will stack armor regardless of whether you're mid or top. However, if you're top instead of mid, the enemy mid laner won't rush


Here's an example game if you're not convinced:
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Before I get into the specifics of Top Talon, I want to discuss my choice of ![]() ![]() |

The two major differences in laning top compared to mid are the bruiser matchups and a greater emphasis on lane control. Most top matchups are versus melee bruisers, so it will be much easier to trade early in lane as they will have trouble dodging the second part of your w. Thus, you will want to be looking for early cheesy kills with ignite (similar to Mid Talon).
Versus ranged top laners such as


However, your strong early trades can put you in a false sense of security. By using W to harass and secure a passive proc versus melee bruisers (or even ranged), you will also push the wave towards the enemy laner. This is a huge problem as you're running ignite. One good gank by the enemy jungler and your lane, and likely the game, is over. With no way to quickly TP back to lane, you're going to be down 1.5 to 2 levels, 20+ cs, and a kill if you die. Since it's nearly impossible to come back from such a disadvantage (especially as an ad assassin vs. tanky, armor stacking bruisers), you must make sure never to die early on Talon top. This actually isn't that hard. Simply sit at your tower and wait for the enemy laner to start autoing the first wave before showing up, causing the lane to start pushing towards you. Then, avoid using W the first wave or two to get the wave set up on your side of the lane. Once the lane is set up, you can abuse your early game advantage with no chance of a gank by simply using w as they walk up to a minion, wait until the blades are about to be pulled back, and ranged q + aa. Plus, the enemy laner will struggle going for cs and trading back due to the threat of your jungler's gank.
After your power spike (once the enemy laner has backed), you will either be up a kill, even, or (hopefully not) down a kill. If you're up a kill, shove the lane and back yourself. If you're even, shove the lane if you can get your minion wave to the enemy turret before the next enemy minion wave shows up and stops your wave. If you're down a kill, well... you're in trouble.
Now that you're in base, take a look at the state of the minion wave. If it's pushing towards you (the enemy wave is bigger), simply walk to lane. If it's even or pushing towards the enemy (the enemy wave is smaller), you can gank mid or bot. Look for a gank mid if the enemy laner hasn't arrived to lane as you're leaving base. This will usually be done with these two paths:
NOTE: Yellow dot is a common trinket spot, Red dot is a common control ward spot. Red, Blue, and Green boxes correspond to where the enemy laner is, and arrows indicate path to gank.


Now, if the lane is pushed into the enemy side or neutral AND the enemy laner backed around the exact same time as you, then you have time to roam bot. Remember that roaming bot is a huge risk and will put you very far behind if it fails. Thus, make sure NEVER to die when you gank bot. If your bot gank succeeds and either forces the enemy laners to back or you kill them, consider going for bot turret. The three of you (you, bot, and support) will certainly get first tower before your top turret falls. Use these gank paths:


After first turret falls, lane swap as you would if you were mid (ask to swap with your bot lane, except they go top for turret instead of mid) and play the rest of the match like mid lane Talon.


In this section, I will go over Talon matchups in both mid and top. Further, I will rate the difficulty of the matchup from 1 to 10. Some matchups will have varying difficulty, depending on your ability to dodge or the skill level of the enemy player. I've been uploading matchup vods to youtube and will embed them in this section.
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5 |
This lane ranges from easy to quite difficult depending on how well you can dodge. Make sure to stand behind minions to avoid her charm. Generally, there are two types of ![]() 1. The first type of ![]() ![]() 2. The second kind saves their abilities and just farms. Farm with her while looking for early kills by walking up and using w when she starts to auto a minion. When ![]() |
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4 |
In lane, harass her with ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Be careful of dying, as she will pop off HARD if you give her an advantage in lane. Ask for ganks when her shroud is down. Shove her to tower and roam after you finish ![]() Overall, I don't think this matchup is too hard for ![]() ![]() |
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8 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Remember the cooldown on her ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() With all of this being said, this lane will also be incredibly easy if the ![]() ![]() |
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8 |
![]() ![]() Generally Annie players will walk up and try to q-aa you as often as possible in lane. When she does this, throw a w and back off. She has to sidestep the second half of your w and then won't be in a position to harrass you. Early kills are usually quite easy due to how aggressive Annie players usually play. Watch out for her post-6 burst, she will easily kill you in one combo. Overall, I think ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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4 |
This matchup usually isn't too bad for ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Avoid trading with ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Overall, I don't think this matchup is too hard if you know what you're doing. Thus, I give it a 4. ![]() |
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5 |
Corki pokes hard but he's not too difficult to deal with. If you struggle against his poke, consider starting ![]() ![]() |
Match-up vod: |
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5 |
The Karthus lane is literally a dodge simulator. If you are good at dodging, you'll win. If not, you'll be at 10% hp in 3 Q's. Make sure to dodge his Q's or at least get hit with your minions. If you get hit by yourself, you take a load of damage. Plus, if he hits your minions, he pushes the wave and has to play safe due to his lack of escapes. Once he's 6, make sure your team knows so they can be aware of a potential Karthus ult.![]() |
Match-up vod vs Froggen: |
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3 |
Malzahar isn't too hard for Talon. He shoves hard but doesn't have any escapes, meaning he has to play relatively safe early. Make sure to hit him with w every 10 or 15 seconds so his ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Match-up vod: |
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9 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In this matchup, you want to play passive early on and not give her too many opportunities to harass you. When she walks forward to ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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7 |
Similar to the ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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3 |
This matchup is so easy it's almost a joke. No matter how good the enemy ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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1 |
This matchup is very easy primarily due to ![]() ![]() Early in lane he will probably try and spam ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() However, if he doesn't spam ![]() ![]() Overall, this matchup should be a free lane if played properly. Thus, I give it a 1. ![]() |
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3 |
In it's current state, this matchup heavily favors ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In lane, throw your ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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3 |
Although ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |


Thank you for reading. Special thanks to Jovy for banners and coding. If you enjoyed this guide, feel free to check out my other guides by clicking the icons below! |
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