Kassadin is possibly Talon's easiest matchup. He has a horrible laning phase pre-6 due to his lack of mobility. The best tip I can give you is to try and end the game before he hits level 16, as he out scales you HARD.
Kayle
Kayle is similar to Kassadin in the sense to where she has a bad laning phase but an amazing late game. The thing that makes her slightly more annoying to deal with is the fact that she is ranged and she can go invulnerable. Bait out her R and you should be fine.
Veigar
Veigar has a very bad laning phase, which makes him very easy to get killed by an early game assassin like Talon. All in him once he is low and his E is on cooldown, and keep denying him minions to reduce his scaling. Also, if you are stuck in his cage, dodge his W at all costs.
Karthus
Karthus' Q is super easy to dodge with boots, and he is super immobile and squishy. Beware of his R though, since it can easily kill you if he has Dark Harvest. If you are having troubles with him, an early Maw of Malmortius is great.
Akali
Akali is not bad for Talon, especially after all her nerfs. If she gets into your melee range, make sure to trade with an auto Q auto combo to chunk her. When she ults onto you, dodge her E so she does not get free damage and also watch out for her E mark on her shroud, as she can easily juke you with it.
Aurelion Sol
Talon negates a huge margin of Aurelion Sol's damage due to the fact that he stays inside his stars to deal damage. Watch out for his Q stun and roams, and you should be fine.
Nocturne
Nocturne mid has been popping up in the meta again recently, and thankfully he is actually a really easy matchup for Talon. Bait out his spellshield and if he tries to E you, try to get to a wall to E away. Also make sure to try to dodge his Q and you will demolish him.
Gangplank
Gangplank is pretty squishy without items and his oranges are not that good against you. Just dodge his barrels and you will crush him. His Q also costs a lot of mana, so if he is constantly using it on you punish him when he is low on mana.
Lux
Lux has a lot of burst potential and can oneshot you if she hits her Q, but she is still an easy matchup. Make sure to dodge it if possible, and try to save your Ignite for when her shield is down so she cannot be saved by it. Standing behind minions is useful since her Q can only hit two targets.
Galio
Galio is a rather easy matchup for Talon, due to the fact that he is only tanky against AP. Make sure to dodge his E and get away from him when he tries to taunt you. His ult is also decent at counteracting your roams, so be mindful when you rotate to another lane.
Corki
Corki has a decent laning phase, but he is still pretty easy to fight since without his passive he has limited mobility. Wait out his E when he uses it and then go all in. Also, make sure to dodge his Q since it gives true sight, which means he can see you when you ult.
Swain
Swain's E and Q can be annoying, but other than that he is pretty easy to lane against. Just save your combo for when his ult is on CD, as it makes him pretty tanky. Also, if he hits his E and goes to pull you, throw out your W so that he has to take 2 hits for free if he wants to get it off.
Twisted Fate
Twisted Fate has no disengage other than his gold card and has no mobility. Also, you can catch up super quickly when he ults. Watch out for his blue card as it deals a ton of damage, and if he gold cards he may be receiving a gank so be careful!
Xerath
Xerath is a pretty easy matchup unless they are scripting or they are Zwag. As long as you move unpredictably, his skillshots are a piece of cake to dodge. Xerath's Q slows him when he is channeling it, so try to throw out a W at him as it will be way easier for the return part to land.
Seraphine
Seraphine is similar to Lux in the sense to where she can shield your damage and she has really strong poke. I would try to bait out her echoed E before going in, and dodge her R at all costs. Serpent's Fang is excellent into her.
Ziggs
Ziggs is easy but very tedious to lane against due to his strong Q poke, waveclear from his E, and the fact that he can knock you away with his W. Try to dodge his skillshots and do not let him free push, since he clears towers very fast. Also, make sure to NOT stand in the center when he ults since it deals the most damage.
Sylas
Sylas may be annoying to fight, but you can win laning phase easily against him if you play it right. Make sure to dodge the intersect explosion on his Q, as it deals a lot of damage. Dodging his second E is also important as he will lose out on a lot of engage. Also, healing reduction is amazing against him since it helps with his W healing.
Ekko
Ekko is pretty annoying to fight, but is still an easier matchup due to his weaker laning phase. If he E's away from your second W, flash in his direction so your second W still hits for a free passive proc. Also if you see him W, he may be receiving a gank so back off from him.
Yasuo
Yasuo is a skill matchup. If he is good, his W will negate 80% of your damage and he will dodge every W you throw out with his E. Make sure to Q on him first so that it is easier to land your W, and don't engage when he has his tornado Q up. Steelcaps is good into him as well since his Q counts as a basic attack.
Yone
Yone is similar to Yasuo, but a little bit easier since he does not have a Wind Wall. When he E's in, make sure to dodge his Q's and try to focus him once he goes back to his original location, as he will be vulnerable. Dodge his R at all costs.
Vel'Koz
Vel'Koz can deal a lot of damage with the true damage from his passive. Make sure to stand away from the wave so he cannot farm and poke at the same time, and as long as you dodge his Q and E you should be fine. Also if he uses R flash behind him since he cannot redirect it very fast.
Zed
My favorite Talon matchup in the game, as this is 100% a skill matchup. Make sure to stand behind minions in order to reduce his Q damage, and dodge his combos at all costs since he can all in you if he hits them. Another huge tip is that you should NEVER use your ult first unless you can easily kill him. Wait out Zed's first then use yours.
Annie
Annie is really annoying for Talon due to her stun and her ability to last hit super easily. Do not engage when she has her passive up and punish her when she goes to get close to you for a Q.
Katarina
Katarina is not a bad matchup for Talon, as your melee Q screws her up super hard. Stay away from daggers and try to predict where she will use her E with your W for an easy passive proc.
Lissandra
Lissandra is very annoying to deal with, however she is very squishy now that Aftershock is no longer optimal on her. Do not engage on her under tower if she has W or ult, and if she E's at you she is probably getting a gank. Do not stand behind your minions so that her Q shard does not hit you.
Qiyana
Qiyana's multiple dashes make her super slippery, especially when in the jungle. Make sure to not stand too close to terrain so she doesn't get a good R off and stand behind minions to dodge her elemental Q's.
Taliyah
Taliyah has very good waveclear and poke, along with good disengage with her E + W. Make sure to follow her when she roams, and E over her R when she traps you.
Jayce
Jayce is super annoying to fight due to him having 6 abilities and strong poke. Do not get hit by his accelerated Q, as it deals around 1/4 of your health if you're not careful. Wait for him to use his knockback before going all in.
Vex
Surprisingly enough, Talon does pretty well into Vex even though she is an anti-dash champion. Make sure to dodge her Q and E in lane and play the lane like any skill-shot reliant matchup. I would recommend standing away from the wave so she cannot poke you and clear at the same time, and also bait out her W before going all in. In teamfights make sure to dodge her ult at all costs since it resets on kills, however this is not too hard since it is rather slow.
Malzahar
Malzahar's point and click suppression is very frustrating to deal with. Make sure to buy an early QSS as the cc and damage from his ult is insane. To get rid of his passive shield, use W or Ironspike Whip on a wave so that it also hits him, so that you can catch him off guard.
Fizz
A bad Fizz beats a bad Talon, but a good Talon beats a good Fizz. Bait out his E, since when it is on cooldown it will be easier to combo him. Make sure to dodge his ult at all costs and you should be fine, especially with some magic resist.
Vladimir
Vladimir has some of the most insane damage and healing in the game. When laning, punish him for walking up to Q a minion by throwing your W at him. Do NOT stand near him when he has Crimson Rush up and bait out his pool at all costs. He is near impossible late game to fight, so getting magic resist and baiting out his pool is key. If you see him charging up his E, he is probably going to flash R you, so back off.
Syndra
Syndra has a weak early game, however she still has decent damage and her long range stun can still be deadly as it can interrupt your engage. Make sure to not stand in the minion wave so that she cannot poke and farm at the same time. Roaming is key here as she is super immobile and cannot keep up with you.
Lucian
Even though Lucian has INSANE levels of poke and trading power, he is still not a bad matchup for Talon. He has no crowd control and if he uses his E aggressively, punish him for it. Make sure to get away from his line of sight when he ults and get an early Plated Steelcaps. If he even gets slightly behind early game it is over for him.
Anivia
Anivia has a lot of cc and damage that makes it hard to lane against her. Her E when used on a target she crowd controlled deals a huge amount of damage without MR, so dodging her Q is key. Always check to see if her passive is up before engaging, and remember that you can E over her wall, so use it unpredictably to catch her by surprise.
Ryze
Ryze used to be a bad matchup for Talon, but after the removal of his instant root and shield, this matchup got way easier. Make sure to stand away from minions so that his E doesn't bounce onto you, since his Q will deal a bunch of damage.
Azir
After his rework, Talon can no longer dodge Azir's ult and soldiers with the removal of his old E, so now your best bet is to roam as he'll just poke you outta lane. Be careful of his Shurima Shuffle, as it is one of the strongest combos in the game. A tip when fighting Azir is that you can E over his ult once it stops.
Viktor
Viktor has strong poke, but he has a very weak early game and has horrible mana issues without his Mythic item. Dodge his W and burst him once you hit your level 2 spike. Roaming is good too as he has really bad mobility.
Morgana
Morgana is a really annoying to fight for assassins, and Talon is no different. Her binding lasts for over 2 seconds and her W deals a lot of damage especially at low HP. Make sure to also get a QSS for her ult in teamfights, as her AoE stun is very strong if she lands it.
Ahri
Ahri's crowd control and burst on top of her mobility makes her a rather annoying matchup. Make sure to stand away from the minion wave so that she cannot farm and poke at the same time and dodge her charm at all costs.
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia's poke is really bad for Talon, especially with no MR. Make sure to stay out of her W since you cannot E or Q while inside it and face away from her when you engage on her to stop her ult stun.
Orianna
Orianna has some of the strongest poke in the game. Make sure to always know where her ball is to prevent her from landing a good ult and go in when her E is on CD. Also, make sure to stand away from the minion wave so she cannot poke you and farm for free.
Diana
Diana has some of the highest burst in the entire game. Watch out for her Q, as it makes her E able to be reset. Her shield absorbs a lot of damage if she has a lot of AP, so make sure to wait it out before fighting her. If she ults, try to Q to a minion to get away since it deals a lot of damage.
Sett
Sett mid is rarely picked, but he is just like Garen and Renekton mid when it comes to bullying assassins. He will destroy you if you get into his range, so make sure to take quick trades. DO NOT get hit by his stun and bait out his W shield. I would recommend getting Steelcaps and a Serpent's Fang in this matchup.
Tryndamere
Tryndamere mid is annoying for any melee champion, and Talon is no exception. Avoid dueling him level 1 since if he crits you he could easily deal half your health. I would recommend roaming and shoving waves to prevent him from ever engaging on you.
Akshan
Akshan has amazing poke and his damage with his passive is very strong. Make sure to stand away from the minion wave so that he cannot extend the range of his Q. Also, play aggressive if his E is on cooldown since the mobility it provides is broken otherwise. Also, if Akshan ults, make sure to stand behind either a tower or a minion wave to block it.
Zoe
Zoe has huge amounts of bursts especially when she lands her E + Q combo, which will most likely deal at least half your health. She can also steal summoners, which makes escaping her hard. She cannot keep up with your roams though, as without a summoner she is super immobile. Make sure to zone her off of spell drops and do not let her hit Sleepy Trouble Bubble.
Rumble
Rumble has some of the most damage over time in the entire game. Get out of his Q and R as fast as possible and make sure to dodge his E poke. Make sure to only go in on him if his W shield is on cooldown, and if you need it buy Serpent's Fang.
Karma
Karma is extremely safe in the laning phase, and her poke is nearly undodgeable due to her wide Q hitbox. Make sure to not trade with her if she has her R up, as both her Mantra W and E will make you instantly lose the trade. She is immobile, which means roaming and helping your jungler first is key.
Pyke
Pyke mid is really good into Talon as he can shrug off your trades with his passive and he can easily kill you if he lands any of his crowd control on you. Make sure to stand behind minions to dodge his Q, and if he E's at you unexpectedly, be ready to Flash as he could try to Flash + stun you for an easy gank. I would recommend buying plenty of Control Wards to spot his roams.
Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger is a very annoying matchup for Talon, but not an impossible one. Make sure to destroy his turrets and play safe. Bait his grenade and go for an all in, as he is very squishy.
Tristana
Tristana mid is very annoying to fight, and she can actually kill you level 2 if you aren't careful. Make sure to buy an early Plated Steelcaps and try to play safe. Bait out her W and have your jungle gank you. If you ever get the chance make sure to roam as she will not be able to keep up.
Neeko
Neeko is a very hard and tedious matchup for Talon. Make sure to dodge her E if possible, and remember that it travels even farther through minions. Try to stand adjacent to the wave and throw out your W to hit her and the wave, so that she cannot land a free root and you poke her. I would heavily suggest buying a Hexdrinker against her.
Irelia
Irelia has huge amounts of damage, especially in teamfights with her ult. Make sure to dodge her E stun as it also causes her Q to reset. Do not combo while she is in her W, as it will negate a large margin of the damage. Dodge her ult at all costs!
Pantheon
Pantheon is a very difficult matchup, as his W can easily kill you if you are not careful. Make sure to respect him in lane and try to dodge his Q if possible. Only go for an all in if he uses his W and E, as those two abilities can easily prevent your engage.
LeBlanc
LeBlanc is a really bad matchup for Talon due to her insane burst potential. Make sure to dodge her E and don't stand too close to her when she Q's you. Also, make sure to try to throw your W so that it hits her and her Distortion, so that if she jumps back it still hits her. Hexdrinker is great against her.
Renekton
Renekton is one of the strongest lane bullies in the game, due to his stun, tanky ult, two dashes, and strong AoE damage. He will demolish you if you get too close to him, so your best bet is to roam, as his two dashes have a long CD so he cannot keep up very well.
Malphite
Malphite is another super hard matchup for Talon because unless he screws up, you will never kill him. Do NOT stand close to him once he hits 6 and try to stay out of lane as much as you can. Punish him if he E's the wave as he will lose a lot of dueling power.
Elise
Elise and Talon have disgusting early pressure together, and she also allows your team to not be full AD. Beware of falling off though.
Alistar
Alistar is one of my favorite supports to play with due to his high amounts of crowd control, which makes Talon able to pull off a free combo.
Zyra
Even though she is not very tanky, I still love Zyra for her crazy amounts of cc and burst. She is also good with Talon as she won't make his team full AD.
Rell
Rell has amazing engage and her ult makes it super easy to hit multiple enemies with your flower combo.
Ashe
Ashe is a great marksman because of how much utility she brings to the table and her ult is insane as a setup.
Gragas
Gragas has really good setup, and he can go tank or AP, which are both great for Talon.
Yuumi
Yuumi is easily one of the most frustrating champions for the enemy to face. She can speed you up which makes your E even faster and she allows you to survive for longer.
Sejuani
Sejuani is an early ganker, which is always good for an early game monster like Talon. Her cc is good too.
Skarner
Skarner has a very good amount of crowd control and you can easily roam to collect his spires. Plus, his R leads to easy kills.
Zac
Similar to Sejuani, Zac has great amounts of cc and he has really oppressive ganks.
Evelynn
Evelynn allows you to have two assassins with different damage types, and her charm makes killing enemies so easy.
Volibear
Volibear is a great toplaner or jungler to play with, since his engage is strong and also he can make tower diving so easy with his ult.
Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser is strong, and he can take an enemy out of a teamfight. Plus he allows your team to not be full AD.
Warwick
Warwick is not bad since he deals a decent amount of mixed damage and has good engage. However, unless he hits his ult you both do not have a crazy amount of setup.
Renekton
Renekton and Talon are not bad with each other due to them both being amazing early game. You both can control objectives and are super oppressive. The only problem is that you both fall off late game.
Kayn
Talon allows Kayn to have some early pressure, however his early ganks are pretty poor and he is AD, which makes him harder to play with than other assassin junglers.
Rek'Sai
Rek'Sai has good early game pressure but the fact that she is AD and falls off so hard makes her a risky champion to pick unless you can end early.
Janna
Janna seems good on paper, but her R can be annoying since she knocks enemies away, which can screw up your flower combo. However if the Janna is good and waits for you to go in first, she is not a bad synergy.
Rengar
Talon does not synergize very will with other AD assassins due to him usually making the team full AD if there is another one on the team. Rengar in particular provides little cc for Talon, and his early ganks are not the greatest unless Talon can bait for him.
Kha'Zix
Talon does not scale well with other AD assassins, and Kha'Zix provides even less utility than Rengar. He does have a strong late game though, which makes Talon's poor scaling a little more bearable.
Shaco
Shaco's trickster playstyle does not synergize very well with Talon, since the only thing he can really do is bait them into boxes. He is not terrible to play with if he goes AP though.
Zed
Zed is already basically a troll pick anywhere other than mid, but if you happen to have one on your team, expect to not get much done since countering you both will be very easy.
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Elise
Elise and Talon have disgusting early pressure together, and she also allows your team to not be full AD. Beware of falling off though.
Alistar
Alistar is one of my favorite supports to play with due to his high amounts of crowd control, which makes Talon able to pull off a free combo.
Zyra
Even though she is not very tanky, I still love Zyra for her crazy amounts of cc and burst. She is also good with Talon as she won't make his team full AD.
Rell
Rell has amazing engage and her ult makes it super easy to hit multiple enemies with your flower combo.
Ashe
Ashe is a great marksman because of how much utility she brings to the table and her ult is insane as a setup.
Gragas
Gragas has really good setup, and he can go tank or AP, which are both great for Talon.
Yuumi
Yuumi is easily one of the most frustrating champions for the enemy to face. She can speed you up which makes your E even faster and she allows you to survive for longer.
Sejuani
Sejuani is an early ganker, which is always good for an early game monster like Talon. Her cc is good too.
Skarner
Skarner has a very good amount of crowd control and you can easily roam to collect his spires. Plus, his R leads to easy kills.
Zac
Similar to Sejuani, Zac has great amounts of cc and he has really oppressive ganks.
Evelynn
Evelynn allows you to have two assassins with different damage types, and her charm makes killing enemies so easy.
Volibear
Volibear is a great toplaner or jungler to play with, since his engage is strong and also he can make tower diving so easy with his ult.
Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser is strong, and he can take an enemy out of a teamfight. Plus he allows your team to not be full AD.
Warwick
Warwick is not bad since he deals a decent amount of mixed damage and has good engage. However, unless he hits his ult you both do not have a crazy amount of setup.
Renekton
Renekton and Talon are not bad with each other due to them both being amazing early game. You both can control objectives and are super oppressive. The only problem is that you both fall off late game.
Kayn
Talon allows Kayn to have some early pressure, however his early ganks are pretty poor and he is AD, which makes him harder to play with than other assassin junglers.
Rek'Sai
Rek'Sai has good early game pressure but the fact that she is AD and falls off so hard makes her a risky champion to pick unless you can end early.
Janna
Janna seems good on paper, but her R can be annoying since she knocks enemies away, which can screw up your flower combo. However if the Janna is good and waits for you to go in first, she is not a bad synergy.
Rengar
Talon does not synergize very will with other AD assassins due to him usually making the team full AD if there is another one on the team. Rengar in particular provides little cc for Talon, and his early ganks are not the greatest unless Talon can bait for him.
Kha'Zix
Talon does not scale well with other AD assassins, and Kha'Zix provides even less utility than Rengar. He does have a strong late game though, which makes Talon's poor scaling a little more bearable.
Shaco
Shaco's trickster playstyle does not synergize very well with Talon, since the only thing he can really do is bait them into boxes. He is not terrible to play with if he goes AP though.
Zed
Zed is already basically a troll pick anywhere other than mid, but if you happen to have one on your team, expect to not get much done since countering you both will be very easy.
Hello guys, my name is Coldsong and thank you so much for reading this Talon guide I made. I have been maining him since season 8, and I would say that I have a decent amount of knowledge on him. I will update it with every patch, and in these next few chapters I will explain different things about Talon, such as combos and laning phase.
Pros and Cons
PROS
Low skill floor
Insane early game
Very fun to play
High carry potential
Decent matchups
CONS
High skill ceiling
Bad when behind
Poor late game
Talon is a very fun champion to main, as there is plenty of stuff to learn and master on the champion. He has a low skill floor but a high skill ceiling, and while he has insane carry potential and a great early game, his late game is lackluster and he is very annoying to play when behind.
Combos
Talon has pleny of combos, and here are a few essential ones to note
AA + Noxian Diplomacy + AA
Auto Q auto is Talon's basic trading combo. It is fantastic into champions that walk into your melee range, since the auto attack reset from Noxian Diplomacy can easily proc Electrocute if that is your rune of choice. This combo is especially deadly if you go Duskblade of Draktharr.
Noxian Diplomacy + Flash
This combo requires you to be a little outside of your maximum Q range. If you press Q on the enemy you want to jump to, then immediately flash, you will cancel your Q animation and immediately jump on them with little reaction time.
Rake + Noxian Diplomacy + Shadow Assault + Blade's End
This combo is known as the "flower combo" and it is the best oneshot combo for Talon. You W, then immediately Q on to them while your W is midflight, then you R while you are leaping at them, then immediately basic attack. This will instantly proc your passive and will destroy most squishies.
Noxian Diplomacy + Assassin's Path
This combo also requires you to be a little outside of your maximum Q range, but instead of using Flash, you instead jump over a wall and immediately jump at them. This combo cancels your parkour landing animation, and can surprise enemies on the other side of terrain.
Rake + Flash + Noxian Diplomacy
You want to use this combo if the second wave of your W Rake will not hit, and you know the enemy is low enough to die to your passive. Flash to the side so that you can guarantee the second W will hit, then Q onto them and activate Blade's End.
Laning Phase
LEVEL ONE
Talon is not bad level one, as you have safety with your W range and slow. Make sure to only use your W on the wave if you think you can also hit your laner, otherwise last hitting minions is more important in order to save up mana.
LEVEL TWO
Talon has probably one of the best, if not THE best, level two in all of League. Your W and Q plus passive can deal 50% of an enemy's HP if they are not careful, and adding Ignite to this can easily get you first blood. However, if you Q onto an enemy you are vulnerable to them hitting skillshots, so only do it if you know their abilities are down. Also beware of them having Exhaust or Barrier.
LEVEL THREE/FOUR/FIVE
Talon has an easier time helping out his team once he gets a point into Assassin's Path, so levels three, four, and five should be about looking around the map. Otherwise keep pressuring your laner or give them respect if they are an aggressive matchup like a LeBlanc.
LEVEL SIX+
After level six, you really want to look for roams around the map with your E and even picks with your R. This is around when laning phase is not that important to Talon, and also make sure to look for wards in order to surprise the enemy bot and top laners so that they do not see you early. Also, look for free turret plating in your lane or even other lanes.
Tips and Tricks
There are many little surprises and fun mechanics that Talon has to offer! One of them is that your Q Noxian Diplomacy follows flashes, so if you time it right, you can kill a squishy AND waste their Flash. Also, your E is easily interrupted by hard crowd control, and will force you to your starting location AND put the terrain on a long cooldown, so use it when you know an enemy cannot hit you with an ability like Steadfast Presence or Vault.
Another tip is that your ultimate Shadow Assault is a great escape tool. Do not be afraid to use it in sticky situations! The invisibility plus movement speed is good to run away from enemies, and even juke them in different directions. Also, your E Assassin's Path causes your R to end, so make sure to use Shadow Assault AFTER you E over a wall unless you are desperate to escape.
Talon's Assassin's Path and also Prowler's Claw are both really good ways to redirect your W return and R return. If an enemy is just out of reach from the return part of one of these abilities, you can E over nearby terrain or use Prowler's Claw on a nearby enemy to allow it to hit, which grants an easy Blade's End. This can be tricky at first, and you need to make sure you position yourself in a way that puts the desired enemy between your ability and your character model.
This one is more obvious, but just always remember to weave in basic attacks with Noxian Diplomacy since it's an auto reset.
Conclusion
Thank you once again for checking out my Talon guide! It would mean a lot to me if you let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions. One last thing I would recommend is to watch Yamikaze on YouTube or Twitch. He is really good at Talon and often reaches Challenger one-tricking him.
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