Talon Counters: How To Counter Pick Talon

Talon is a mid lane assassin that deals high burst (AD) damage. He can also be played top. In this article, we explain how to effectively counter Talon on Summoner’s Rift.

Best Talon Counters

• Yorick
• Lee Sin
• Pantheon
• Diana
• Mordekaiser
• Kayle

Blood Moon Talon

Talon Counter Picks

Now that you know who counters Talon, you can finally counter pick Talon in any matchup. Let’s take you through some tips on how to use a few of these champions who are counters to Talon. After, there is a general section explaining how to use any LoL champion as counters for Talon. After all, if you know how to play against Talon, you can play safely and effectively to defeat Talon in a lane.

Lee Sin

When Talon jumps in with his E on someone in a team fight, make sure you tag him with your E or Q to reveal him in case he ults.

Diana

Unless Talon miraculously kites Pale Cascade she’s not dying to his burst, and he will die to sustained damage from Moonsilver Blade.

Kayle

Try to harras Talon as much as possible, without pushing your lane. As long as he is low, he won’t go in to burst you down.

Mordekaiser

Talon can not trade with Mordekaiser. Shove him to the tower and punish his weak early farming.

Dragonblade Talon

Tips For Playing Against Talon

• Talon only deals Physical damage, so building armor will lower his damage output significantly.
• Make sure someone on your team carries a vision ward for team fight to detect him during his ultimate.
• Most Talons build armor penetration and lethality, so building armor is utterly useless until you hit around 250 armor, so high health items would prove more useful than high armor items.
• Remember that Shadow Assault can be used as an escape tool so, Lee Sin’s Tempest or Sonic Wave, Rengar’s Thrill of the Hunt or Twisted Fate’s Destiny can reveal Talon even when he is in stealth.
• All of Talon’s damage output is physical damage: investing in a  Chain Vest or Cloth Armor early (and higher-value armor items later) can significantly reduce his damage.
  • For AD champs, a Ninja Tabi can be a good first item, while AP ones can opt for the Seeker’s Armguard, which can be later upgraded into a Zhonya’s Hourglass
• It is recommended to play safe at early levels, especially at level 2: Talon’s early damage should not be underestimated, as it can easily net him a first blood given the conditions
• Talon is a great roamer that relies on getting early kills to get going. Forcing him to stay in lane by pushing to his tower can deter his ganks and his possible lead
• Talon needs to hit both Rake’s instances for him to proc his Blade’s End. Avoiding Rake’s return will cut a lot of his damage
  • Remember that the skill can be easily sidestepped, since only the second part slows.
  • Champions with mobility skills like Yasuo’s Sweeping Blade can easily avoid the return
• Abilities that stop projectiles like Braum’s Unbreakable can give Talon a hard time, as they can also stop him from stacking Blade’s End on his targets
• Talon’s reliance on burst damage is a heavy weakness against targets he can’t quickly kill. Fighter champions tend to beat Talon, being durable enough to survive his combo and do enough damage to kill Talon afterward, while fighters with innate sustainability abilities will survive Talon’s combo and then just heal themselves back up.
• It is recommended to engage Talon when you think his Shadow Assault is on cooldown as it is his only reliable escape mechanism.
• Talon relies heavily on walls because of his Assassin’s Path. If you know where he might be, stay away from the terrain in question, as he can otherwise ambush you
  • Champions with abilities that rely on the enemy being near terrain like Poppy’s Heroic Charge and Bard’s Cosmic Binding can easily counter Talon’s mobility
• Champions with Stealth Detection Abilities like Lee Sin, Twisted Fate or Rengar can be a nightmare for Talon as he couldn’t escape even with his Shadow Assault.
• Talon tends to lose his influence in the late game, as he can easily risk getting killed in team fights because of his melee range. Prolonged games can be a bane for him
• Talon’s mobility and burst can make him an assassin even more dangerous than Kha’Zix or Rengar against lone targets, as he doesn’t rely on isolation or giving notice of his presence before-hand and his Assassin’s Path allows him to gank from unexpected places. Staying together with your team can however not only easily cripple his engages, but also make his already-poor disengages even worse
• Some of the most difficult match-ups for Talon involve being against champions with point-and-click burst, sustain and pushing capabilities
  • Pantheon can easily shut down Talon in lane by zoning him from farm with Spear Shot. Most importantely, Aegis Protection, Aegis of Zeonia and Heartseeker Strike allow him to not only out-trade Talo but also to engage on him at whim as he does not have any disengage ability outside of his Assassin’s Path and Shadow Assault. Lastly, Grand Skyfall can easily turn around any gank made by Talon
  • Akali can easily out-damage and out-sustain Talon at most points of the game. While it’s true that pre-6 she can be shut down, her Twilight Shroud allows her to stop Talon to proc Blade’s End on her. Once Shadow Dance is available, she has no problem in going toe-to-toe against him
  • Anivia and Orianna can punish Talon’s lack of in-combat mobility and roaming with ease
    • While Anivia’s Crystallize can’t really stop Talon, once she reaches level 6 she’ll constantly threaten the tower with Glacial Storm. Furthermore, Talon is really limited to assassinating her, as not only he’s hindered by Rebirth and Flash Frost, but he can easily be poked thanks to her auto attacks’ range and Frostbite
    • Orianna can make Talon’s life a living inferno because of her Clockwork Windup, as not only she can zone him with her auto attacks, but he can also easily risk getting hit by her full combo, without even considering Command Protect’s strengths. Lastly, once she obtains some mana regeneration she can push the wave effortlessly

SSW Talon

By using the champions who counter Talon and the LoL Talon counter tips above, you can now develop a strategy to help you, as a summoner, become an effective counter to Talon players.