Talon Mid with Smite: A Rising Strategy in League of Legends
Talon mid with Smite has become increasingly popular in solo queue and is now making its way onto the professional stage. What started as a niche Korean strategy has gained global attention, and recently, Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong from KINGZONE pulled it off in a match against MVP.
In this match, Talon’s performance was simply outstanding. The post-game damage graph speaks for itself, demonstrating the power of this strategy.
This strategy leverages the strength of Talon as an AD assassin and takes advantage of the current meta. Talon is one of the few remaining AD assassins in the game, making him a valuable pick in solo queue. Smite Talon further enhances his power, especially when combined with multiple Infernal Dragons, which boost his AD by 24 percent.
Professional players like Flash Wolves’ jungler Kim “Moojin” Moo-jin have recognized the usefulness of Smite Talon, particularly against gold funnel strategies. While gold funneling is more prevalent on the pro stage, it still holds some value in solo queue, making it worth exploring this variant of Talon.
However, it’s important to understand that Smite Talon plays differently from the regular Talon. It relies on utilizing Smite to enable frequent roams, something that normal Talon players are already accustomed to. But instead of ganking bot or top lanes, Smite Talon prioritizes roaming to Scuttle Crabs and the enemy jungle to accumulate gold quickly.
With his incredible mobility and parkour-like abilities, Smite Talon becomes a one-man gold funnel, disrupting the enemy jungler’s farm and accumulating gold for himself. This allows him to purchase Boots of Mobility and an early Duskblade, enabling lane ganks and map rotations.
Mastering this strategy requires a delicate balance between aggressive lane pushing, jungle invasions, and ganking other lanes. It’s a challenging playstyle that demands precision and timing.
Keep in mind that Riot’s upcoming changes to how Smite and jungle items interact with lane minions may affect the viability of this strategy. However, for now, it remains an exciting and powerful option for Talon players.
League of Legends, Talon, Smite, AD assassin, gold funnel strategy, professional play, solo queue, jungle invasion