My first guide here on Mobafire :D Feedback is appreciated.

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Talon is a somewhat unique AD carry. He's capable of jungling - albeit very slowly unless helped at golem from the start - but is better, I think, in lane. Like other AD carries, Talon needs support from a support champ to be really effective since he has zero sustainability. You could build him attack speed/lifesteal, but you'll end up being useless end game and still pretty squishy. Instead, I've given him some standard AD items as well as a bit of attack speed and the Frozen Mallet for his passive.

Pros

• Lots of burst potential
• Decent escape
• Great Harass
• Sexy Crimson Elite skin

Cons

• Pretty squishy
• Support dependent
• Takes a while to ramp up

Runes actually can help Talon quite a bit more than you might think. I take Greater Mark of Desolation for better harassing in the early game with Rake. Flat Armor and Magic Resist runes help Talon survive if he gets Exhausted or ganked. They're not much use later on, but at level 10-12 you should be team fighting and getting kills rather than creep farming.

Masteries are pretty standard 21/0/9 AD setup... Masteries help, certainly, but I'm of the opinion they don't affect the game so greatly that having one or two points in different places will make or break a team fight. In the end, all you really need is Cripple and Sunder . Also, Utility Mastery helps since you'll be needed Lizard buff until you get your F'Mallet.

Now comes the fun (and most debatable) section of the guide :D


Why not Doran's Blade? Simple: you need the sustainability of the shield. The armor and health provided by the shield pair nicely with your runes and and the health regen can help you recover faster if Caitlyn gets a headshot or Peacemaker off on you. If the game lasts long enough, you'll likely be selling it to finish your Bloodthirster.


If you're up against a CC heavy team or lane opponent, grab Mercury's Treads instead. Otherwise, it really is the only option for Talon.


Talon's cooldown are just long enough to prevent you from using your abilites frequently enough to last hit or land that emergency Rake. The 15% CDR from this is perfect, and its active is easily paired with Noxian Diplomacy when you initiate. Also... armor pen is sexy.


Talon is not an off tank! Remember this and your Bloodthirster will love you for it. Ideally, you should have one of these before you start team fighting, but if the enemy team is getting aggressive, it might be better to swap its place with Frozen Mallet or Phage at the very least. However, building this should be a priority, as you need the AD early on to reach your potential.


Rushing a Phage after Bloodthirster would be ideal. It's not terribly expensive (1315 gold) and can be obtained after a return from a winning team fight. It's passive applies a weaker version of the slow on F'Mallet, but Talon doesn't need an oppressive slow for his passive to work. Completing Frozen Mallet will land you a decent health bar and bit of extra AD.


Why, Kakurenbo, why get this awesome item so late? For me, it's personal preference. Its got a bit more AD than Bloodthirster and has a cool passive, but I feel Bloodthirster is a better early game choice for its sustainability feature (lifesteal). Putting Infinity Edge off till later can allow Talon to back out of team fights and heal on neutrals or minions while Shadow Assault cools down. Infinity Edge is much better early on for champs who rely on auto attacks (I'm looking at you, Ashe) more than Talon does. However, if Infinity Edge has that special place in your heart, by all means, switch its place with Bloodthirster.


What'd cooler than AD? AD with AS. What's even cooler than that? Lowering your target's armor by 45. With this - if the game even lasts that long - paired with Youmuu's Ghostblade and your Greater Mark of Desolation, anyone you attack will pretty much be naked to your hits. Tanks wont, naturally, but if you're hitting the tank, you're doing it wrong anyway.

Situational Items

These can be used in place of Berserker's Greaves, but Talon's base attack speed is a little slow for my taste. Getting these will make early game harass easier and might land you a kill, but sacrificing that early attack speed is a tough call to make. They do, however, pair nicely with Youmuu's Ghostblade for even more CDR, and the attack speed from its passive is more than enough. Just make sure you're going to get the Ghostblade early before choosing these boots.


This can be worked in somewhere if you don't mind hitting a little softer and want more crit. It could work much better in place of Black Cleaver if you get an early Infinity Edge instead of Bloodthirster or if you're on a team with a lot of CC, and you don't need Frozen Mallet's proc. Of course, dropping the mallet is also dropping the gained AD from its 700 health stat.


Most teams have a few players with Exhaust. Quicksilver is the only way to remove it (and is faster CD than Cleanse), but getting this means loosing something. If you have to replace something, and absolutely need the active from Quicksilver, then drop Youmuu's Ghostblade. It's passives are nice, but far less critical than the AD you must have to be viable. Plus, you get Ghostblade early enough to not miss having it.


Get this instead of Quicksilver Sash if the enemy is packing a lot of AP. Getting both will make you an end game wet noodle gold factory for your foes, so it's one or the other.

Get this. It works with your passive and is necessary if you plan on getting any sort of kills in your lane or chasing a runner from a team fight.


The only reasons you wouldn't have Flash are either 1.) You're not level 12 summoner yet, 2.) You're playing a Support, 3.) You're playing a Tank (and even then, some use flash to initiate).


Leave igniting to Annie. Noxian Diplomacy causes a DoT bleed that can stack with Ignite for some good damage, but honestly, it's not worth losing the other two imo. Use it if you are really confident in yourself and can pick your fights well, because it does have nice damage potential and the healing debuff is double trouble.

The rest are useless for Talon, and indeed, any AD carry.

If you plan on taking Talon into a ranked game as a laner, then know he requires the support of a healer like Soraka or Sona. After Soraka's nerf, Sona might be a better choice for her ability to slow and stun which activates Mercy.

If you go for a level 1 jungle invasion or team fight, Rake can be replaced with Cutthroat if you're lacking a silence. Silencing the target will stop them from using Flash and you can pick up your skill rotation normally from there, grabbing Rake at level 4 instead of Cutthroat. Use Cutthroat wisely, though, as it is a dash attack and will drop you behind your target which can get you killed and may loose your team the first blood.

Beyond that, Talon can be played as a jungler, but since I fail at jungling, and Talon isn't much of one to begin with, I suggest consulting another guide for that informaton :D

Talon isn't a frontlines fighter, but you have a couple options when engaging the enemy. I've used both to relative success.

Flash and Burn

If you have good communication with your team, let them know you're going to Flash in ahead of time and ping your target. Talon's ult, Shadow Assault, puts him in stealth and gives him a 40% movement increase. You can use this to Flash in, pop your ult and Cutthroat a squishy followed by Noxian Diplomacy and a Rake to prevent the escape. If you have nimble fingers, hit Noxian Diplomacy before flashing so you can land the bonus damage hit after Cutthroat and have it off cooldown sooner for the chase.

While Shadow Assault is active, using an ability or attack will immediately end the effect and cause the blades to return to Talon. Cutthroat enables you to ensure the blades hit your mark and cause big burst damage when paired with Noxian Diplomacy. If you don't have Frozen Mallet, use Rake before triggering Noxian Diplomacy to gain even more burst.

Shadow Chase

Rake your target then activate Noxian Diplomacy and Youmuu's Ghostblade. Cutthroat to your target and auto attack to trigger your passive and Noxian Diplomacy. Hit Shadow Assault to dash ahead of your target and hit R again to end the effect and dispatch them with another Rake + Noxian Diplomacy combo. If they somehow manage to survive this onslaught, use Cutthroat to keep them in range until your cooldowns are up for Rake and Noxian Diplomacy.

Shadow Retreat

Sometimes you need to get away. Sometimes, the enemy is very low hp when you do. Use Flash to escape, and if the enemy chases, toss a Rake behind you to trigger the slow, pop Noxian Diplomacy and Cutthroat behind them. Auto attack once and if they're still alive, immediately hit Shadow Assault to run away. If they're low enough, hit it again to finish them off. Otherwise, just book it out of there. If you get Exhausted at any point, hit Shadow Assault and try to run far enough away before it ends.