Talon - The Blade's Shadow is a melee assassin champion that specializes in quick burst damage and a hasty withdrawal when your job is complete. He is not a champion that sticks around in team fights in the middle of the fray. (Comparable to Katarina, but he doesn't rely on his ult to do all of the damage for him.)

He has some decent CC as well, including slow (W) and silence (E). When the opponent is stunned, suppressed, immobilized or slowed, Talon does 10% more damage with his basic attacks. This makes it essential to master using E and W correctly and at the right times.

A common misconception about Talon is that he is not a good lane champion and cannot farm. I have found this to be quite untrue. In fact, if used properly, he can force almost anyone out of lane with just his W and E+Q and proper zoning. It is not uncommon for me to force my opponents out of lane within the first couple of minutes if they are careless.

Overall, Talon is a very powerful assassin with quite a bit of burst damage. Your opponents what even know what hi- err, cut them.

I like to go with 9 Armor Pen Reds, 9 Flat Armor Yellows (for sustainability, sometimes I use Flat Attack Speed Yellows), 9 Flat MR Blues (or, if you'd like, CDR Blues), 2 Armor Pen Quints and 1 Flat HP Quint (again, for sustainability).

Unbeknownst to some, Talon has quite a bit of HP early on (around 650 or so with my build), so it is pretty easy to harass and/or get FB with him in early fights.

I go with 21/9/0 or 21/0/9. The reason for this is that he is a melee champion with burst damage, so it is more beneficial to have 21 points in offense rather than defense or utility. I put 9 in defense or utility depending on what my opponents composition looks like. If you are going to be getting harassed more in your lane, I would take the 9 in defense, but it is all situational and completely up to the player and his/her best judgement.

Items are pretty straightforward. My builds change quite often (mostly with the boots). I prefer to use Grieves, but a lot of times I need the tenacity and MR of Mercury's Treads, or the increased cool-downs of the Ionian Boots of Lucidity.

I tend to build Talon more with burst damage pure AD with a bit of LS. He could be built as tanky dps, but his abilities do not call for this at all, IMO.

Flash and Exhaust or Ignite. I take ignite if my team has none, but I prefer to take exhaust so it is easier to chase down champs like Nid or Kennen, etc.

I would not recommend any other spells aside from Ghost, which I would rarely ever use for him.

As always, last-hits on minions are the most important part of laning. Even more important than harassing your opponents in lane. I prefer to use W mostly to harass my opponents early, then later on following up with E+Q and finishing them off with my ult.

Try not to push out your lane too far, as Talon has little going for him as far as escaping goes.

In a team-fight, I usually plan to aim for the carry on the other team or some other squishy that I know I can take out very quickly. Bursting in and taking out the enemy carry can severely change the pace of a fight and the entire game. I like to use E to get in, hit them with a W and Q, and the ult and finish them off while also hitting the surrounding opponents in the process.

Just remember that you are not invincible and Talon is prone to being focused due to his high damage output and the fact that he is pretty squishy.

Talon is a very unique champion, and has grown to be one of my favorites since I started using him. I hope this helps out, and just remember that you do not have to build Talon this way at all if you do not wish to.

Use your best judgement with Talon and at least give this guide a chance.