A New Champion Approaches: Lulu - the Fae Sorceress (pg 30) - Page 10

Talon
The Shadow's Blade

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It takes a truly resourceful gentleman to seamlessly combine function and style, particularly on the battlefield. It should come as no surprise, then, that the upcoming champion of the League is a man of both utility and flair.

Allow me to introduce Talon, the Shadow's Blade. In addition to looking every bit the part of the cloaked and cowled assassin that he is, Talon's cloak of blades makes him a dangerous and terrifying presence on the battlefield. It's probably best to steer clear of this this cloaked and dangerous champion on the Field of Justice, or he won't be the only one pulling a disappearing act.

Spoiler:sneak peek

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Spoiler:art

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Talon's earliest memories are the darkness of Noxus' underground passages and the reassuring steel of a blade. He has no memory of family, warmth, or kindness. Instead, the clink of stolen gold and the security of a wall at his back are all the kinship he has ever craved. Kept alive only by his quick wits and deft thievery, Talon scraped out a living in the seedy underbelly of Noxus. His incredible skills with the blade earned him great notoriety. Various guilds sent assassins against him with a demand: join their ranks or be killed. His response was to leave the bodies of his pursuers stuffed in a dark corner or dumped in Noxus' moat. Having lived on the streets, Talon knew better than to waste - he claimed a blade from every failed attempt on his life, gathering a seemingly endless collection of weaponry.

The assassination attempts grew increasingly dangerous until one assailant met Talon blade-for-blade in a match of strength. To his astonishment, Talon was disarmed. He was facing down his executioner's sword when the assassin revealed himself to be General Du Couteau. The General offered Talon the standard of life that befitted an agent of the Noxian High Command in exchange for his allegiance. Talon accepted on the condition that his service was to Du Couteau alone, for the only type of orders he could respect were from one he could not defeat. Talon remained in the shadows, carrying out assassinations on Du Couteau's orders until the day that the general disappeared. Talon's suspicions led him to the doors of the Institute of War, where he joined the League of Legends in order to find the parties responsible for Du Couteau's disappearance.

"The three deadliest blademasters in all of Valoran are bound to the house of Du Couteau: my father, myself, and Talon." - Katarina Du Couteau

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Greetings, Summoners!

Today we wanted to bring you a peek into the mechanics behind Talon, the Blade's Shadow, the new assassin that's joining the League!

Talon, the Blade's Shadow, is a physical damage assassin who specializes in high-mobility, high-risk, high-reward gameplay. Our goal with Talon was to create a powerful but fragile melee character with specialized tools to make him both deadly and evasive. As a result, what Talon lacks in durability and sustain, he dishes out in mobility and power.

The driving force behind Talon's gameplay is the way that he engages and disengages from combat using his four abilities:

To sum up, Talon's a mean, shadowy, vicious assassin... and we're excited to see him join the League soon. And as a side note, his mobility and elusiveness makes him a very good pick on Dominion

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Cutthroat: An ability that allows Talon to catch his enemies by surprise. Talon leaps behind his target and silences them for a short duration, amplifying the damage of any of his follow up attacks and abilities.

Noxian Diplomacy: Talon viciously stabs his enemy, dealing heavy physical damage and causing them to leave a blood trail that Talon can use to track them.

Rake: Talon fans out three blades in front of him that quickly return to him, dealing damage and slowing any target hit in either direction.

Shadow Assault (Ultimate): Talon enters stealth for a short duration, gaining a movement speed boost and sending blades that deal damage to all enemies in their path flying in every direction. Once the blades reach a certain distance, they pause and form a circle. When Talon reappears from stealth, the blades return to him, once again dealing damage to any opponent they pass through.

Mercy (Passive): Talon's auto-attacks deal additional damage to a target that is under the influence of any crowd control effect.


Playing Talon effectively is all about reading the situation and reacting strategically to your target. Shadow Assault can be either your saving grace or your deadliest advance. Using it to disappear can sting your target and leave them chasing ghosts. But if it's a fight you want, using it to initiate in conjuction with Cutthroat, Noxian Diplomacy, and Mercy can deal significant burst damage.

quote Amethyst

Sort of do want Talon.

Annoyed that the sneak peek got me hyped and wanting him out soon, but what can you do.

Another new champion..? Oh boy..