Talon Blackwood

First time I saw Talon Blackwood pop up on PBE back in early 2020, I thought Riot was memeing. A fantasy RPG rogue skin for the assassin who already looks like a fantasy RPG rogue? Sounds redundant on paper. Played maybe 40 games with it that first week and changed my mind completely. The Rift Quest line takes Talon out of Noxus and drops him into a full tabletop campaign, and honestly it works way better than it should.

What Talon Blackwood actually changes

The model swap is the biggest thing here. Talon goes from his usual blade-cape edgelord look to this sleek ranger-thief aesthetic. Think dual daggers, leather armor, a hood that actually looks practical instead of dramatic. The color palette shifts to deep forest greens and blacks. Clean design.

VFX got a full rework for an Epic. His W (Rake) throws these glowing green daggers that trail emerald particles on the return. Looks distinct from base, which matters when youre tracking the rake return in a teamfight. Q proc has a satisfying green slash, and the passive bleed reads differently too. Not gonna lie, the E (Assassin’s Path) wall hop has subtle dark green particles that most people miss entirely, but I noticed them during a late-night ranked session around 1 AM last Tuesday.

The recall animation is where the Rift Quest fantasy comes together. Talon sits down at a campfire, sharpens his blades, very D&D rest stop energy. Been running this in Diamond and the recall always gets comments from my duo. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, but Travis Willingham’s original performance fits the rogue archetype naturally so it doesnt feel like a gap.

(Random aside: the splash art for this skin is genuinely one of my favorites in the entire Rift Quest set, maybe my favorite Talon splash period.)

The Rift Quest line and release context

Talon Blackwood dropped March 19, 2020. Right at the start of quarantine season, which means I had way too much time to spam it in solo queue. Season 10 if I remember right. The Rift Quest skinline is Riot’s tabletop RPG universe, same line as Veigar Greybeard and Braum Lionheart. Talon fits as the party’s rogue. Classic archetype.

Francis Tneh and West Studio handled the artwork. They cooked on this one. The splash captures Talon mid-heist, daggers drawn, that smirk on his face like he already pickpocketed the dragon’s hoard. Composition is tight.

8 chromas total for Talon Blackwood. Obsidian is my go-to, turns the whole skin into this murdered-out dark assassin look that reads super clean against the Rift. Aquamarine gives a frost-rogue vibe that I think pairs well if you’re running him mid against mages. Ruby exists but kinda feels like every other red chroma Riot puts out. Could be wrong here but I think most Talon mains default to Obsidian or Pearl.

Is Talon Blackwood worth 1350 RP?

Real verdict: for an Epic skin, this delivers. New VFX on all abilities, solid model, great recall, strong splash. The Rift Quest theme gives Talon something genuinely different from his other options. Blood Moon Talon is the main competition at this price point, and I think Blackwood edges it out for variety alone. Blood Moon is gorgeous but it’s more of the same dark assassin energy. Blackwood gives you that rogue-thief fantasy.

1350 RP feels fair for what you get. Still in the shop, permanent availability, so no rush. If you main Talon or even just have him in your assassin rotation for mid lane, this is a strong pickup. Spammed this in Diamond for about three weeks straight back in season 10 and kept coming back to it even after picking up Enduring Sword later. The green VFX on W specifically helped me track the return blade better in chaotic teamfights, which sounds small but matters when you’re trying to proc passive on the backline.

Skip it if you already own Withered Rose or Enduring Sword and don’t care about the RPG aesthetic. But for Talon one-tricks building a collection? Top pick for Talon mains. The skin just hits different when you’re roaming bot after shoving lane prio and the green particles pop off during the dive. Simple change – huge impact on how Talon feels to play.