Introduction

My name is Remick Vallar AKA RoyalRed,

This is my first Mobafire Guide, featuring Talon...
Talon is my main champion, enough said...

This guide will focus on:
1.)Runes
2.)Masteries
3.)Q Max ? or W Max ?
4.)Why TP instead of Ignite
5.)Maintaining Power Spike
6.)The Proper Combos
7.)Laning phase
8.)An Assassin's mindset on a 5v5 clash
etc etc

You might think that my guide looks boring and all because it's new and it isn't so fancy
with pics and stuff, and probably you will tell yourself that Vapora's Guide to Talon is
better than mine, whether that is true or not, this will be extremely helpful if you wish to
have a better understanding on how to use Talon.

Rules to be effective on Talon:
1.Never buy LDR or Mortal Reminder unless you are assassinating Tanks, you
shouldn't even try to kill Tanks on your own, Talon is an Assassin, Assassins kill
squishy targets, not Tanks, leave the Tanks to Fighters.

2.When doing a 5v5 clash, Never start your all in combo with your R if you are not sure
you can make it out alive.

3.Runes should be Pure Armor Penetration, It's true that it makes you really weak on
the Early game, but this makes your Mid - Late game EXTREMELY powerful.

Now for the Runes,

They say if you are a beginner with Talon you should take AD Runes,
And that Armor Penetration Runes are for the more experienced Talon players,
This isn't completely true, your Runes should be based on who you are up against, or if you're STUBBORN LIKE ME, take pure ArmPen despite the match-up, because you are aware of its POWER ON THE MID GAME.

Let's put it this way,
AD Runes = Early Game
ArmPen Runes = Mid/Late Game

In terms of burst:
ArmPen Mid/Late game > AD Mid/Late game

So let's get straight to the point,

AD Runes help with your early game weakness, helps you CS better with your AA and your W, it also gives you a decent burst pre-6.
Now why the heck would you want to burst pre-6? The answer is simple, it's because your enemy laner is a bully pre-6 and that you need to trade back damage,
so that once you hit 6, your all in burst comes out on top

So what if they win Early game? So what if your opponent gets First Blood...
With ArmPen Runes, In a situation where in you are behind...
YOU WOULD STILL DEAL DAMAGE LIKE YOU ARE LEADING...

They said Armor Penetration Runes work best once you get raw AD from items, this is TRUE,
(especially with my full build that has 3 items that gives 75 AD, 1 that gives 65, and 1 that gives 55)

But the only problem with taking Armor Penetration Runes is that by level 1 your AD 65, this is awfully low if you would ask me, but like I said, this guide is here to deal with Talon's early weakness, Meaning there is a solution to this Low AD problem. And it's the Summoner Spell: Teleport.

Why full ArmPen Runes? Let's do some math...

The guide features 36 Mid-lane Champions, and the one with highest Armor by level 18 is Swain, has 90.7 Base Armor.

These are the sources of your Flat ArmPen:
-Runes: 19.2
-Masteries: 8.4
-Ghostblade: 20
-Duskblade: 10
Total = 57.6 Flat ArmPen

Then let's say you have these items:
-R.Hydra
-TBCleaver
-DDance
-Duskblade
-Ghostblade
-Boots of Mobility: Distortion

When attacking, Armor Penetration and Armor Reduction are considered in the following order:
1.Flat ArmRed
2.% ArmRed
3.% ArmPen
4.Flat ArmPen

Swain's 90.7 Base Armor is reduced by 30% (TBCleaver Effect)
90.7 - 30% = 63.49 Total Armor

Then, reduce the remaining Armor using Flat ArmPen
63.49 - 57.6 = 5.89 Armor

by level 18 with full item build, Swain would feel like he only has 5.89 Armor

The other 35 Champions in match-up section have lower Armor than Swain, they would end up with Armor lower than 5.89

The Masteries.... 12-18-0 ...

Now there is an explanation to every Mastery I picked.
Let's start with the Ferocity Tree:

1.Fury vs Sorcery
The answer is obvious here, Talon's power comes from his spells, not from ASpd, So you should definitely go with Sorcery.

2.Double Edged Sword vs Feast
It's kinda tricky some might say, because like I said these Masteries should help Talon with his early laning phase, so usually when you want to play safe, you would go for Feast, but hey, keep in mind that 3% extra damage is HUGE,
(Since Talon's Burst is huge, that 3% is big enough)
You would not actually feel the 20 HP gain that much especially when the Ignite is ticking on you when your HP is super low, plus Feast only works on 1 unit kill per 20 sec, so might as well take Double Edged Sword for the CONSISTENCY it gives.

3.Vampirism vs Natural Talent
The Preseason changes for the Masteries kinda made some champions struggle in the Early game,(especially Talon) first of all if you are AD, the Masteries today doesn't give Flat AD, AD per level, and 5% of your Bonus AD
(I'm talking about Season 5 Masteries here)
So I didn't really focus that much on AD per level Masteries during the season 5 era, What I wanted was something that was always there, (Consistency) so I would take the former Feast mastery where I would gain 3 hp 1 mana per kill, IN SHORT, I WENT FOR SUSTAIN, the Feast now isn't consistent because it's only there once every 20 sec, so I chose Vampirism over Natural Talent, oh sure the Lifesteal isn't much, BUT THE SPELLVAMP IS, Spellvamp means you would heal based on how much damage your spells would deal,(Q and W, even your R!) I bet you guys are aware that Talon is extremely bursty, meaning that 2% would be HUGE.

4.Bounty Hunter vs Oppressor
Again, another issue with consistency, another issue on what will help you with your laning phase, Bounty Hunter can reach a cap of 5% extra damage once you kill every champ the enemy team has (1 enemy champ kill yields 1% bonus damage) 5% is huge, but the sad fact is, you aren't killing everyone during your laning phase, you just gotta acknowledge that Talon is not an almighty god during Early game. So instead I took the Oppressor mastery, it's actually really really good, because it has synergies with your passive, plus that 2.5% extra damage can work on creeps as well, THIS MEANS YOU CAN CS BETTER, Plus its super easy to slow down your enemy laner because of your kit, that 2.5% extra damage is also gonna be huge for your all in combo.

Now for the Cunning Tree

1.Wanderer vs Savagery
I said these Masteries are to help you with laning phase, specifically when it comes to taking CS, so it's obvious that you should take Savagery here.

2.Runic Affinity vs Secret Stash vs Assassin
My thoughts as to why I took Secret Stash:

Now even if I know my Jungler teammate will always give me blue buff, I would still take Secret Stash over Runic Affinity, answer as to why that is simple, first, it's INSTANT 20 HP and 10 MANA, imagine buying 5 of them and consuming them all at once while you are low and while your enemy laner is going to dive you with an Ignite, it counters Ignite just like that, second, it gives mana, it really sucks when RIOT removed mana potions, sure they are underrated but the truth is it was extremely useful for Talon's laning phase.

My thoughts as to when I should take Assassin over Secret Stash
This is an update to the Cunning mastery tree, it improves Talon's overall burst by a percentage, it is extremely powerful if you would ask me, but the things is, you would be sacrificing the mana sustain from the biscuits if you take Assassin, I would only take this on certain situations, like its a comfortable match-up, or maybe if i'm running AD Runes, or maybe when I know my Jungler will always give me blue buff.

3.Merciless vs Meditation
Pretty obvious here, Meditation Mastery are mostly used on supports, AND YOU ARE NOT A SUPPORT, so take Merciless.

4.Bandit vs Dangerous Game
ARE YOU A SUPPORT!!??!! TELL ME?!?! ARE YOU A *****-COWARD SUPPORT OR ARE YOU AN ASSASSIN?!?! Please take Dangerous game. ^_^

5.Precision vs Intelligence
Talon's abilities without CDR are already low, and this guide will be recommending items that grants 40% CDR, you actually wont be spamming a lot of spells because you only need to do your burst once in a clash, your not some sort of a Yasuo who spams his Q every 1.33 sec, you are not a snow-baller, YOU'RE AN AVALANCHE-er! (Remick term tho XD) so take Precision for more damage.

6.Stormraider's Surge vs Thunderlord's Decree vs Windspeaker's Blessing
SRS is a conditional Mastery, you gotta burst first before you get the MSpd, It's super effective on your Mid and Late game,
TLD is your Damage mastery...DAMAGE!!!
WSB are for supports... ARE YOU A SUPPORT? FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, PICK TLD!!!

SRS is like the 2nd best Keystone mastery for Talon IMO,

Like I said, there are cases where in you are in a really bad match-up and you gotta keep on using your W for CS, maxing W in a situation like this will deplete your mana quickly because it costs more mana per skill level, So instead of putting points on W, put it on Q, but the moment you reach 6, the next time you level up, you have to focus again on maxing W over Q,

If it's possible for you to farm 875 gold straight up without dying or recalling for mana
and health regen, then take Ignite

But in my case, I'd still take TP over Ignite

Most of the time i'm not able to pull it off, farming until I reach 875 gold without dying or recalling for mana and health regen, so I would usually recall when I have 500 gold,
then pick up a Long Sword + 3 Biscuits, then TP back to lane, once I do, farming for
Pickaxe or even Tiamat becomes so much easier.

Reasons:
-You start with 65 AD (super low)
-You won't do much damage until you get your first item, (Pickaxe, Tiamat)
-If you are against a champion that runs AD Runes, chances are they CS better than
you and hurt you more than you hurt them when it comes to trading.
-Once you reach your first 350+ gold, you can choose to recall and take another Long
Sword then Teleport back in to your lane, when they choose to recall the same time
you recall, you can clear CS gap, or even gain CS lead. By this time, you shouldn't
have a hard time trading damage with your opponent.
-The damage you get once you get the first core (Tiamat, Pickaxe) is so much that you
don't even need Ignite.

Teleport is just another way of saying
"Since we both don't do much in the Early Game and I can catch-up with your CS, I will
focus on farming until I OUTDMG YOU" (And you will, all it takes for a damage spike is
a Tiamat or a Pickaxe and 1 or 2 Long Swords)
Or, "Since I know how to play super safe no matter how aggressive you are, TP is
better."

But if you really prefer AD Runes, Atleast have a solid reason as to why that is.
Here's mine:

If you are running AD Runes this means you are aware that you are facing an Early
Game bully that would harass you early on, you have to trade damage with them just
with your W, not with your entire Q, W, E, but just W, your goal is to trade back, and
have enough Mana for your all in when you reach 6.
Ignite is just another way of saying
"Since you are such a bully, I have to trade back, in case i need the extra damage, I
will Ignite you"

Let me remind you that you are starting out with ArmPen Runes
And that ArmPen works best when you get AD,
Before I tell you which item should you rush,
Let me show you all the components of the items you will get.