Talon vs Malphite Counter Pick

Malphite carries about the highest armour a mid opponent is likely to show: 40 at level one and 124.2 at level 18, with Granite Shield absorbing up to a tenth of his maximum health whenever he has gone a few seconds without being hit. Talon deals physical damage exclusively. The 130 games logged on patch 16.13.1 nonetheless return 59.2% for Talon, graded Easy.

Armour protects the champion, not the map. Assassin’s Path crosses any wall on a short cooldown, letting Talon leave a lane Malphite cannot follow him out of, and Shadow Assault extends the same idea with invisibility and move speed. A champion rated 2 out of 10 for difficulty, whose engage is a straight-line Unstoppable Force, has limited ways to punish that pattern; Talon’s rating of 7 reflects the combo timing his half demands.

Inside a straight duel the picture reverses. Ground Slam scales its magic damage off his armour and cuts attack speed, Thunderclap adds aftershocks to his attacks, and Seismic Shard steals move speed from a base of 335 that both champions share. Blade’s End still applies its bleed after three stacks of Wound regardless of resistances, but chewing through 2,433 health plus a recurring shield takes time an assassin rarely has. The approach is described on the Talon champion page.