Talon vs Malphite Counter Pick

Few mid laners bring as much armour into a fight as Malphite: 40 at level one, climbing to 124.2 by level 18. Granite Shield soaks up to a tenth of his maximum health once he has gone a few seconds without taking damage. Talon’s damage is purely physical. Even so, 130 games on patch 16.13.1 give Talon a 59.2% win rate, rated Easy.

Plating shields the body, not the terrain. Assassin’s Path lets Talon hop over any wall after a brief recharge, so he can exit a lane that Malphite has no route to follow. Shadow Assault builds on that with invisibility and added movement speed. Malphite sits at 2 out of 10 for difficulty and engages through a direct-line Unstoppable Force, which leaves few answers to that movement; Talon’s 7 reflects the timing his combos require.

In a head-to-head trade, the balance flips. Ground Slam’s magic damage grows with his armour and slows attack speed, Thunderclap attaches aftershocks to his basic attacks, and Seismic Shard drains move speed from a 335 base both champions start with. Blade’s End still inflicts bleed once Wound reaches three stacks, ignoring resistances, yet grinding down 2,433 health plus a repeating shield takes longer than most assassins can afford. Details of this approach appear on the Talon champion page.