Talon/Strategy

Skill usage

 * , as an AD, burst caster, serves as an anti-mage or anti-carry. Against mages or carries, his high burst damage can easily overwhelm them in one combo.
 * is your best tool in the lane, allowing to last-hit and harass from a decent range.
 * high burst and goes hand in hand with most jungler's CC effects.
 * harassment combo in-lane is followed by  and . This does good damage and the silence and slow help prevent retaliation.
 * Try to perform this at least once prior to reaching level 6, so as to force opponents out of the lane due to the threat of dying to.
 * is a hard champion to catch. Use to slow pursuers, and  for the stealth and high movement speed. Change your path direction during stealth to juke and confuse your enemies. But keep in mind that the enemies can see where your blades travel when your stealth ends. So using the ability just to run can sometimes be better than running into the enemy jungle while trying to juke the enemies.
 * can be used to ambush enemies behind thin walls, if they are close enough and you have line of sight. Alternatively, you can use on a minion near an enemy champion for a quick entry into battle.
 * resets the autoattack timer, so use this ability after autoattacking to gain 2 hits in sucession.
 * The bonus damage from can be used on turrets.
 * Use in conjuction with  and  to maximize  damage potential.
 * can be used both defensively or offensively. It can be used as either a tool for chasing an escaping champion or escaping a gank.
 * It is difficult to utilize the movement speed of  to its fullest due to the small range of the radius, however. It is more likely the movement speed will be helpful to quickly get in range of a target to use  on than simply running around should you wish to hit an enemy with  twice.
 * One way to ensure return hits your target is to use, immediately ending the stealth and positioning yourself such that the blades are guaranteed to hit.
 * basic move combo requires him to activate then closing the gap with  which will devastate an enemy. If this does not completely anhiliate an enemy continue with  to chase an enemy and if they still have not died, finish them with.
 * reveals an enemy champion so be sure to use it on stealth champions such as an enemy, , , , et cetera.
 * does not reveal stealth champs in a usual way (as and, etc.).The target will leave a blood trail which can be helpful if facing champs with short stealth abilities . Also you can use it on champion to prevent him or her from hiding in bush.
 * When you are ganking/chasing enemy that has or a similar escape tool (,  etc.) dont use your  immediately, but simply run near him until he wastes his ability. However, be careful when he can jump over walls as you need vision of them to blink to them with.
 * A good way to use your combo is to activate then  so that  is active during your ult. Use  to jump to an enemy then immediately toss out  so that when you hit with  you get maximum burst. If you need to after that, then tag them with Ignite or chase until they die.

Build usage

 * deals strictly physical damage so he benefits from building attack damage items.
 * Offense
 * is an excellent early purchase for, providing armor penetration and cool down reduction. It also builds into one of his core items, .  can quickly apply  stacks to his target;  applies 2 stacks if it connects on both hits, while  applies a stack per cast (2 stacks total), and both spells can hit multiple targets. Additionally, being an AD caster,  values cooldown reduction and any armor penetration he can get, making  an extremely efficient item on him.
 * Another powerful mid-late-game purchase for  is a . Not only it provides a nice amount of attack damage but also adds 35% armor penetration. Along with 3 point in  Mastery,  can achieve a total of 39% armor penetration.
 * may fill a niche spot for duels and quick turret pushing power. While not superior than  on, it does provide good stats overall and meets its purpose.
 * Despite providing a large amount of attack damage,  is not a crucial or optimal purchase for, as he does not rely on auto attacks as much as other melee champions.  Combined with , however,  will have a 40% crit chance; the two items are very powerful only if  is ahead.
 * For a more burst-oriented build,  can be surprisingly powerful early game by adding damage to  and providing a bit more Mana. While its AP will go to waste, it can later transition into a more powerful  and provide a wide array of stats and its Passive adds even more damage to .


 * Sustain
 * If you have trouble in lane with sustain and think that potions are not enough for you, an early  or  are recommended. Scepter can be used later to build other Life Steal items that can greatly benefit .
 * is the more common upgrade from . It grants a rather large amount of AD provided it remains stacked. It's the best option to add damage all around, but if  is getting focused, it may be difficult to keep it full.
 * is another excellent choice with solid stats. Cleave applies  Passive and Crescent adds even more burst to . A solid option for wave clearing and more team fight presence.


 * Defense
 * is regarded as a counter to conventional Mages due to his silence, so  is an excellent choice when fulfilling this role. Not only it provides magic resistance but also provides Tenacity which is excellent against teams with heavy crowd control.
 * An early  can be the bane of burst Mages, and later on can be upgraded to . It's essential when facing opponents with "finishing" moves that deal magic damage like  and . Alternatively, a  can be purchased if a  like ability is needed.
 * is a great purchase if ahead, as it makes  harder to kill and may deter the enemy team from focusing him.
 * triggers  with every successful hit (NOTE: first hit will add slow, but wont trigger passive). It provides utility, health, and some damage.
 * Other unconventional items like  and  are extremely situational and do decrease 's damage output drastically, but can also provide a great increase of survivability for .
 * Miscellaneous
 * With   can focus more on split pushing. One of the strategies utilized consists on getting  along with the previously mentioned and rush to the lanes, clear the waves with, and rotate to another lane, trying to apply pressure constantly.
 * Currently best Trinkets for survival / chase are and .  can be useful in certain situations, like if you have insane aggressive opponent lane opponent (aka  or ) which start with couple of wards and.

Countering

 * All of damage output is physical damage, investing in a  or  early (and higher-value armor items later) can significantly reduce his damage.
 * Buying  or  will make less useful.
 * is fairly squishy and vulnerable to harassment during the laning phase. Use this to your advantage but be aware that his and  can easily turn the engagement in his favor.
 * When playing as a Mage,   can provide a great amount of defense early game, decreasing 's damage substantially.
 * reliance on burst damage is a heavy weakness against targets he can't quickly kill. Fighter champions tend to beat, being durable enough to survive his combo and do enough damage to kill  afterwards - fighters with innate sustainability abilities in particular will survive combo and then just heal themselves back up.
 * It is recommended to engage when you think his  is on cooldown as it is his only escape mechanism.
 * As is his only escape mechanism,  can help your team focus him.
 * Watch out for his and  combo. It can deal significant damage and combined with  and his passive  will deal significant amounts of damage within a few hits. Zone him when you can and press the advantage.

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Talon/Strategy