Talon vs Nidalee
Skill matchup
Build vs Nidalee
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Talon: Umbral Glaive, Bastionbreaker, Voltaic Cyclosword, Boots of Swiftness, Edge of Night, Youmuu's Ghostblade, Serrated Dirk, Serpent's Fang.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Nidalee's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Moving through brush increases Nidalee's Move Speed by 10% for 2 seconds, increased to 30% toward visible enemy champions within 1400 range.Hitting champions or monsters with Javelin Toss or Bushwhack triggers a Hunt, granting True Sight of them for 4 seconds. During this time, Nidalee gains 10% Move Speed (increased to 30% toward the Hunted target) and her Takedown and Pounce are enhanced against them.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6s | 13s | 12s | – |
| 6 | 6s | 13s | 12s | 3s |
| 9 | 6s | 12s | 12s | 3s |
| 11 | 6s | 11s | 12s | 3s |
| 16 | 6s | 9s | 12s | 3s |
| 18 | 6s | 9s | 12s | 3s |
Playing as Talon
Tips to maximize your impact
- Three spells, then an auto
Apply three Blade's End (passive) stacks by hitting with your spells, then strike with an auto: the target starts bleeding and takes heavy damage over time.
- Use Noxian Diplomacy up close
Cast Noxian Diplomacy (Q) in melee range when you can: instead of the leap, it lands a critical strike. If it kills, it heals you and comes back faster.
- Bring your blades back on your target
During Shadow Assault (R), break invisibility with an auto or Noxian Diplomacy (Q): the blades then converge on your target instead of coming back to you.
- Push, then roam over the walls
Push your wave, then roam by vaulting walls with Assassin's Path (E): the spell comes back fast, but you can only cross the same wall again after a long delay.
Playing against Nidalee
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Dodge her javelin
Dodge Javelin Toss (Q), especially from range: its damage grows with distance, and a javelin that hits empowers her cougar spells against you.
- Back before you get too low
Back before your health gets too low: in cougar form, Takedown (Q) deals more damage to targets that have already lost health.
- Ward the brush in your jungle
Ward the brush and entrances of your jungle early on: Prowl (passive) speeds her up there, especially when she's heading toward a visible champion.
- Drag the game out
If you survive her first minutes, play for time: Nidalee looks to get ahead through early ganks and invades.
Other Talon matchups
Patch 16.21.1