League of Legends - Talon Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

Talon

Basic Information

Champion Stats

Lore

Skills

Icon	Description
	Blade’s End INNATE: Talon’s spells Wound champions and epic monsters, stacking up to 3 times. When Talon attacks a champion with 3 stacks of Wound, they bleed for heavy damage over time.
	Noxian Diplomacy (Target Range: 550, Cost: 30 Mana, Cooldown: 8/7.5/7/6.5/6) ACTIVE: Talon leaps to target and deals 80/100/120/140/160 (+110% bonus Attack Damage)physical damage. If cast from melee range, Talon does not leap but instead critically strikes, dealing [0]% damage (0).When Noxian Diplomacy kills a unit, Talon regains 0 health and refunds 50% of its cooldown.
	Rake (Target Range: 650, Cost: 55/60/65/70/75 Mana, Cooldown: 9) ACTIVE: Talon tosses a volley of blades, dealing 50/65/80/95/110 (+0) physical damage to units hit and returning to him after a delay.On their way back to Talon, the blades deal 60/85/110/135/160 (+60% bonus Attack Damage) additional damage and slow the enemy by 40/45/50/55/60% for 1 second.
	Assassin’s Path (Target Range: 725, Cooldown: 2, On-Target Cooldown: 160/135/110/85/60) ACTIVE: Talon vaults up to 0 units over the nearest structure or terrain in the target direction. The vault’s speed is affected by Talon’s movement speed.Talon cannot dash over the same section of terrain more than once every 0 seconds.
	Shadow Assault (Effect Radius: 550, Cost: 100 Mana, Cooldown: 100/80/60) ACTIVE: Talon disperses a ring of blades that deal 90/135/180 (+80% bonus Attack Damage) physical damage to all units they hit, gains 40/55/70% increased movement speed, and becomes Invisible for up to 2.5 seconds. When the Invisibility ends, the blades converge, dealing the same damage again to enemies they pass through.If Talon cancels Invisibility with an attack or Noxian Diplomacy, the blades converge on his target’s location instead.STEALTH – INVISIBLE: Talon can only be revealed by nearby enemy Turrets.

Strategy

• Talon is the best champion for getting the first kill. The power spike you receive at level 2 is better than most mid-lane champions. Often times, the standard Talon combo starts off with (W) Rake and (Q) Noxian Diplomacy combo to harass your enemy champion during the early laning phase.
• Whenever your minion wave has been pushed or your enemy champ dead, you can roam and gank on either the top or bot lane.
• Talon’s (R) Shadow Assault can be used to either gap-close or escape from enemies together with his (E) Assassin’s Path.
• Talon’s (R) Shadow Assault has very low cooldown rates so don’t be stingy in using this skill.
• Talon is very powerful during the early and mid game. However, his late game is weak. Try to finish the game before your enemy champs can create a full build.
• Try to spam your skills as much as possible against your enemy champion. He has a very strong harass which could be used to starve enemy champs from minion waves.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Mid Lane
Ignite	Flash

Item Builds

Starter Items
Long Sword	Refillable Potion	Warding Totem

Core Items
Duskblade of Draktharr	Youmuu’s Ghostblade	Guardian Angel

Duskblade of Draktharr – Talon S7 players often get this item for him because of its incredible synergy with his skills. Duskblade of Draktharr grants him good Attack Damage and Lethality. Furthermore, (R) Shadow Assault activates this item’s skill, making his next basic attack deal massive damage. Oftentimes, his combo out of (R) Shadow Assault is more than enough to assassinate any squishy target.

Youmuu’s Ghostblade – Another staple item for Talon, Youmuu’s Ghostblade increases his ability to roam, thanks to its active skill that grants him bonus movement speed out of combat. Coupled with (E) Assassin’s Path, he is able to traverse terrain and execute his target quickly. Stats-wise it further grants him with bonus Attack Damage and Lethality.

Guardian Angel – Guardian Angel is a standard defensive item for Talon. It grants him great Attack Damage, armor, and moreover, a passive skill that revives him whenever he incurs fatal damage.

Full Item Build
Duskblade of Draktharr	Youmuu’s Ghostblade	Guardian Angel
Mercury’s Treads	Edge of Night	Mortal Reminder

Mercury’s Treads – Mercury’s Treads is a great boots upgrade for Talon, since he often dives in the enemy back line and is often a priority target for crowd control. This boots upgrade gives him good movement speed, magic resistance, and more importantly, reduces the duration of disables he incurs.

Edge of Night – Edge of Night futher enhances Talon’s ability to execute targets while being protected by enemy disables. This item gives him good Attack Damage and Lethality. Moreover, its active skill envelops him in a protective shield that blocks the first enemy skill or crowd control, allowing him to dive in and kill his intended target quickly.

Mortal Reminder – Mortal Reminder closes out Talon’s item build. This item is perfect for mitigating the enemy targets’ health regeneration, lifesteal and spell vamp. It also gives his skills and auto attacks good armor penetration and Attack Damage.

Situational Items
Mercurial Scimitar	Ninja Tabi	Maw of Malmortius

Mercurial Scimitar – Alternatively, more experienced Talon players choose Mercurial Scimitar over Guardian Angel in some situations. This is because not only does it give good Attack Damage and magic resistance, but its active skill removes debuffs from Talon such as stuns, slows and other disables. In certain cases, removing a disable is better than resurrecting in the midst of the enemy team.

Ninja Tabi – For team compositions who deal primarily physical damage and auto attacks, Ninja Tabi is a good boots upgrade. This item lessens physical damage you incur by 10%, apart from giving you good movement speed and armor bonuses.

Maw of Malmortius – Getting Maw of Malmortius a good defensive item to deal with those pesky AP-burst mages. This item gives Talon good Attack Damage and magic resistance. Furthermore, it provides him with a spell shield that takes the brunt of magic damage once his health reaches a certain threshold.

Playing Against

• Talon is a very squishy champion with high burst, so building armor and health on him is essential, especially in the early game.
• In the early game, try to dodge the second part of (W) Rake. Once you dodge it, use your skills on him then since he will be vulnerable. A talon at level 2 is at his strongest but also at his weakest since he has no escape save for flash.
• When fighting against him in lane try to farm from tower when you get below or at half hp so he won’t be able to burst you. Eventually, he will either be killed by your jungler or back off to roam. If he roams, ward both sides then take that time to take creep kills. Push the wave to his tower then either go back to base or destroy the tower, depending on where he is.
• Buy sweeping lens so you can find him when he uses (R) Shadow Assault. If you don’t have sweeping lens try to use an area of attack in the last place he was or wherever you think he is. Attacking him will reveal him and cancel the skill.

Hard Counters

• Syndra – one of the best midlaners in game so far. She has a lot of crowd control and damage to go along with it making it very difficult to lane against her. For example, she can whittle Talon down with Dark Sphere and Force of Will. Once she gets him to low health, she can finish him off with Unleashed Power.
• Veigar – Talon is built for roaming and this gives Veigar a leeway to stack AP as much as he wants. Veigar’s burst combo will easily delete the assassin down, especially during the mid to late-game where he has garnered enough Ability Power.
• LeBlanc –  She is a highly elusive champion, and in the hands of an experienced player, can make life in the mid lane a harrowing one for Talon. She can trick him into using his full combo, dodge it, and punish him with her own combo for massive damage.

Strategy Video

COMING SOON

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