8/25/2001 9:52AM -- Changed skill order to level Cutthroat before Diplomacy
8/25/2011 4:28AM -- Changed item order to build a bloodthirster before finishing the t-force.

Talon is an amazing AD burst champion. He requires some finesse though because you'll blow up in half a second. Because of his amazing gap closer (cutthroat) you can bypass the tanks and go straight for their AP carry or ranged AD carry in any team fight. Hopefully you guys enjoy this build.



My first 6 games with Talon. The one loss is because we didn't have a tank. (Not even an OT).

PROS
Insane burst damage throughout the entire game
Great gap closer
Has a stealth ult that also does massive damage
Has a silence and a slow
CONS
Insanely squishy
Early farm is meh
Hard to sustain in lane

Marks
Physical damage over armor pen marks gives you more straight physical damage early game. Along with doran blade and your masteries you start the game with 75 AD. This allows for a higher amount of burst.

Seals
I take the mana regen by lvl because it allows for greater sustainability in lane which is a must for Talon.

Glyphs
I take flat cooldown reduction glyphs. Talon is about burst and not sustained damage. The faster you have your abilities the better your chances of securing a ton of kills.

Quints
I take flat armor pen quints which gives +10 to armor pen. Obviously you're an AD champ. You need that pen to dish our insane early damage.

I don't take the critical damage boost in offense because your job isn't to crit. Your job is to burst with your abilities and you should be able to take down a squishy in just one combo especially if they're just a little bit harassed. I take extra damage to minions because his early farm is a bit meh and it helps out a lot. I also take the cool down reduction because again, you're a burst champ, the faster you get your skills back the more damage you can do. Also being able to spam your Q as fast as possible does amazing damage (especially once you have sheen).

I start the game with a doran blade for a little extra survivability and sustainability in lane. It also gives you a little bit of damage as well.

I go brutalizer then eventually the ghostblade for the cooldown reduction and extra armor pen. You don't really need the crit but the movement speed/atk speed, armor pen and cd redux is well worth it.

I take merc treads because it's your job to go in, burst, then gtfo until it's safe again to pick off another champion. This gives you a better chance of being able to GTFO.

I take sheen then eventually tri force because well, sheen proc is amazing. Also once you have trinity force almost everything it gives is a huge bonus to your damage and even survivability. Yeah it has crit but meh, still worth it.

I take a bloodthirster to allow for more sustainability while taking out jungle creeps or going back into a lane after fighting. Almost all melee AD need some sort of life steal. It allows you to enter a fight at full HP even if you just finished clearing out the jungle.

Banshee veil seems to be a must for him. Again, its your job to get in, do a ton of damage, then GTFO. This helps you out a lot because it adds magic resist, hp and of course the spell shield.

The last item is pretty much up to you. I generally grab another blood thirster for more damage and more survivability. You can grab a straight survival item (GA, Randuins etc...) but that's really up to you.

I level Rake first because of it's high burst damage and amazing slow. I NOW level Cutthroat second because of it's damage amplifier (+15% at lvl 5) which allows for a ton of burst from your ultimate along with Rake and your Noxian Diplomacy. I decided this after a recommendation from a fellow member and going Legendary four games in a row.

Early Game Ganks against One or Two enemies

Pop your diplomacy and hit your ult to come into the lane stealthed, cutthroat to the target and rake as soon as possible. By the time your Rake is finished your ultimate should be coming in to do an amazing amount of damage to the target. If they aren't dead by now then you should have your Diplomacy up again to finish them off.

Late Game team fights

DO NOT OPEN WITH YOUR ULTIMATE!

My first two games I started openning with the ultimate. This is a bad idea. Notice in that picture in the introduction section of the guide. I had a lot more deaths in my first two games than any other game I've played with Talon. I seriously suggest popping your Diplomacy, cutthroating to your target, raking and THEN popping your ultimate to escape a hard focus (since you blow up in a second). Your ultimate will still hit a ton of enemies especially if youre smart about how and where you run away.

By taking flash AND ghost I find myself being able to more effectively get the kills. There have been many times where I've had one on CD but used the other and got the same results, a kill. Some would say taking exhaust and leaving out the point in ability power (which does nothing for you) is the way to go but again, I cannot stress this enough, TALON IS A BURST CHAMPION! There's hardly ANY chasing needed when playing this character. If your target is a squishy he WILL, I repeat, WILL go down in a fight unless you're severely underfed. If you really don't want the double escape/initiate summoner spells then I'd suggest taking either ghost/flash and grabbing ignite. Igniting a champ that's bleeding from your Noxian Diplomacy can secure you that kill that otherwise would've slipped through your fingers but having played Talon enough I've found that this rarely happens.

A lot of people will say that going tankier (frozen mallet, atmas etc...) will allow for a more survivable Talon as well as a constant slow to allow for more optimization of your passive. This is true, however...

TALON IS NOT A BRUISER!

He is an ASSASSIN and should be played like one. This champion requires finesse. It's all about high damage burst. These people want to build a sustained damage Talon. That's not what he's about. Like Poppy, Shaco etc... he's about going in, taking out a very important carry and then backing out until it's time for clean up. There's absolutely no reason to build a Frozen Mallet because you're not going to be in the middle of a serious team fight the entire time. You're going to be taking out key champions, bobbing and weaving and THEN chasing down the final remnants of the enemy team once they've been decimated.

I appreciate you checking out my build. I'd seriously suggest taking my advice and trying this build out. It's working wonders for me and I'm sure it will for you as long as you remember what I've said. Also, please take the time to upvote this guide and leave any comments that you may have. Thanks again!