Taliyah vs Akali

Not enough games

Heavy AP damageHigh burstDive threatStrong engage

Build vs Akali

The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup

Starting items

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Core build

1—

2—

3—

Standard

4Magic pen

5—

Anti CC

4vs CC

Other options

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Strength by game phase

Passive, spells and ultimate

Assassin's Mark (P)

Dealing spell damage to a champion creates a ring of energy around them. Exiting that ring empowers Akali's next Attack with bonus range and damage.

Cooldowns by spell rank

Level	Q	W	E	R
3	1.5s	20s	16s	–
6	1.5s	20s	16s	2m
9	1.5s	19s	16s	2m
11	1.5s	18s	16s	1m30
16	1.5s	16s	13s	1m
18	1.5s	16s	10s	1m

Tips to maximize your impact

Throw them into your minefield
Place Unraveled Earth (E), then throw the enemy across the stones with Seismic Shove (W): the stones explode and stun them.
Pick your volley based on the ground
Cast Threaded Volley (Q) off Worked Ground to throw 5 rocks, or on it for a single boulder that slows, costs less and has a shorter cooldown.
Cut off their retreat with your wall
Place Weaver's Wall (R) across the enemy's path to cut off their escape or split their team: its range goes from 2500 to 6500 with rank.
Roam along the walls
To roam, follow the walls of the map: Rock Surfing (passive) increases your move speed when you're near them.

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

Trade after her smoke
Take a trade once Twilight Shroud (W) is used: she can't vanish again until its 20 to 16 second cooldown is over.
Play hard before she hits 6
Play hard before she hits level 6: without Perfect Execution (R), her only spell to get back on you is Shuriken Flip (E), on a 16 to 10 second cooldown.
Fire into her smoke
If you have AoE spells or skillshots, throw them into the Twilight Shroud (W) smoke: they hit her even while she's invisible, whereas targeted spells can't be cast on her.
Punish her when she's low on energy
Take a trade when she has just cast Five Point Strike (Q) several times: each cast costs 110 to 70 energy depending on rank, from a base pool of 200.
Hit her between her two dashes
Hit her right after the first dash of Perfect Execution (R): she has to wait a moment before she can cast the second.

Patch 16.21.1