This guide is for Talon, the Blade's Shadow. As Talon is easily my favorite champion and one of the funnest champions to play (in my opinion), this is a simple guide on how to play him whether you're a serious, ranked player, or just a average player looking for a fun champion to satiate your desire to try new champions or just have fun. Whether you play him because you like him or because he looks like Altair from Assassin's Creed (which just makes him more awesome), I hope this guide will inform people to get out there and try him.

Alot of people claim that Talon is very OP, I however disagree. As he is a very strong burster, his role explains it all. He is a burster He gets in quick, deals lots of damage, and gets out. Otherwise, he is very easily killed, as his only escape mechanism is either a summoner spell or his ult, because Cutthroat is very limited, as it cannot jump to allies as or can. Talon is VERY team-reliant, so if your team composition is not well or has no teamwork, he is pretty useless. Make sure your team can communicate and with the following, it should lead to a win or at least a very long, close game.
Side Note: Talon is NOT an auto-attacking champion, he is a burster. Building him one has no sustain and he is very easily killed off. Some items, such as , give him a nice balance of stats and a active that can help take turrets faster.

Mercy Cutthroat
Talon has a very nice skill kit, that works in many situations.
Mercy Talon deals more damage with his basic attacks to any target that is slowed, stunned, immobilized, or suppressed.
A nice passive, works very well with and works well with CC from your team.
Talon's next basic attack deals an additional physical damage. If the target is a champion, they will bleed, taking additional physical damage over a period of time and revealing their location for the duration.
A very nice Q, similar to Nasus', except it scales off AD and has a built in ignite. Use it after a auto attack to have it reset and make the most of it.
Talon sends out a volley of daggers that then return back to him, dealing physical damage every time it passes through an enemy. Additionally the enemy is slowed for a short duration.
A skill shot slow. Does lots of damage with high ad, an amazing skill. Also slows to help activate his passive.
Cutthroat Talon instantly appears behind his target, silencing them and amplifying his damage against that target.
A similar jump to that silences for a second and gives a damage amplifier. Works extremely well with his ultimate.
Talon disperses a ring of blades and gains stealth while gaining additional Movement Speed. When Talon emerges from stealth, the blades converge on his location. Every time a blade passes through an enemy, they receive physical damage.
Love this skill. The burst damage is one thing, but the bonus speed is another. You can use it to chase and then use Cutthroat to have blades surge toward them and kill them.

Greater Mark of DesolationGreater Seal of Replenishment
For runing, I take Greater Mark of Desolation Great Marks of Desolation, Greater Seal of Replenishment Greater Seals of Clarity, Greater Seals of Focus, and

Why?

Greater Mark of Desolation Armor penetration runes are a no brainer, standard on all AD melee characters for that extra damage.
Greater Seal of Replenishment Early mana regen gives you lane dominance, as you can use more often to get easily damage and farm. You can also substitute then for , as they work on any AD melee champion and are debated to be one of the best seals in the game.
Overall CDR, late game and early. What's not to Love? Throughout, his already low CD and are even lower, removing the need for CDR items and more harass. (Blue buff is nice though, though it should be going to the AP Carry on your team.
For Quints, I take , because the health allows you lots of sustainability early game. If they cost too much IP for you, you can use Greater Quintessence of Desolation.

For Masteries, I take 21/0/9, focusing on the early damage, extra exhaust, and cooldown along with health/mana regen masteries and more experience.

Core Items

I like to start off with , but you can start with boots and 3 instead. Never hesitate to grab one or two more , as they give a nice bonus in damage and health. Even when I am doing well, I tend to at least have two until I sell one or two off for new items. I then proceed to grab boots the first time I return, in which you can get your hp potions then. I like to get for the extra burst on your standard harass combo, which should go Cutthroat, auto-attack, , . When you get , you want to activate it before you use cutthroat, as you appear behind your enemy and the blades rush in. Proceed to the following combo, which should trigger sheen once or twice at the very least. I proceed to grab survivability in ranked games with Catalyst the Protector and a for damage. Finish the and you won't have to worry about dying for a while unless you overextend or try to 1v2 or more. Finish the for sustained lifesteal and more damage with farm and then . At this point, grab the and for late game damage to devastate enemies that have even stacked armor.

Substitutions?

You can interchange the item order, it's all on preference. Sometimes I will get instead of , as the slow and hp/damage is nice. The and are purely preference, as it should be late game by then and you can build whatever you want.

Options

Nice slow and damage bonus, though and should be doing it's work for you.
I prefer to not autoattack as much on Talon, but the CDR, Armor Pen, and Crits are nice. Not to mention the AMAZING active.
I like to get these if they have low cc, the chasing power is just incredible with and . With these 3, you should be 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS.

I prefer:
because it his only escape mechanism when his ult is off CD or there are no enemies nearby.
allows him to 1v1 anyone and grab more than one kill if you can only slow and kill one while the other is fleeing. CONSTANTLY triggers his passive, a must have in my opinion.

Options

Nice for first blood, but to be honest, has a built in version that may or may not do just as much or more.
Nice to escape, though his ult already gives lots of nice bonus movement speed.

Your priority should be maxing your , and as stated above, your standard combo should go:
Cutthroat, auto-attack, ,
After maxing at 9, it should be mid-game and you should have a , , Catalyst the Protector, and possibly if you're farmed enough.
Talon can mid, but preferably it should go to a AP Caster or a Ranged AD Carry. He solos top well for the CS, and works well in lane with a partner due to his slow.
You should ALWAYS last hit, as it will pay off even if you are not fed. Proceed to comboing enemies, ganking lanes, and helping out your team.
If your combo has not killed an enemy, you can proceed to chase or back off. This is EXTREMELY crucial to know, because once you have Cutthroat to an enemy at a turret, they can cc you unless you have or can out after getting the kill. Play smart, pick up kills.
Also, watch your harassing on Cutthroat, as it will put you behind the enemy, you may take a turret shot, which is HUGE early game and may lead to a death. Know the limits and when to do so.
REMEBER: His ultimate has a low cool down, don't be afraid to use it when you think you might be in trouble to run away!

Constructive Criticism is greatly appreciated, as there are definitely better players than me. I would appreciate if you have any to post below, and also appreciate that flame be kept to themselves. I will continually update this guide accordingly to changes and patches. Thumbs ups would be much appreciated as well, as I hope this guide will appear in the list of results and continue to flourish.

Overall, Talon is one of the funnest champions I have ever played and I think his concept is one of the best. I hope you enjoy him as much as I do, and go wild!