The thing about Talon...

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A "NERF PLEASE" THREAD, NOR IS IT A "BUFF PLEASE" THREAD. I am just trying to get some answers.

Let's talk about why people don't play him as much as other mid laners.

1. He was balanced around having a silence in his kit to help win trades. Otherwise, his base damages are utter crap. It takes a lot of effort to lane against opponents who are ranged from levels 1-6.

2. He is melee with a gap closer, yet there are so many other champions who do it better. To name a few:

: Melee with energy resource, meaning he has some limitation to his abilities. Nonetheless, he is melee and has a tool to help him finish off weak opponents and minions, making him one of the best mid laners to farm under turret. He has 4 gap closers based around his shadows, and clear windows of opportunity to assassinate. He can keep his distance and poke in harder matchups, and he can dodge important skillshots/ultimates with his untargetable state on Death Mark.

: He is also melee, except his melee range is 50 units further, meaning that he can duel and poke faster than champion like Talon with auto attacks. He has a dash that is theoretically limitless, and while I do understand you need an enemy to use it so does Talon's. Also, his dash range may be shorter but it's spammable, deals more damage, and triggers an AoE version of his Q should he use it mid dash. Also, his passive increases critical strike chance, so going melee against him at level 1 is perhaps the worst idea you could possibly have. Not to mention that to stem the fact that he is a squishy melee against ranged opponents, Riot gave him a flow bar, which grants him a shield that could reduce the impact of damage during trades.

: Also melee, but his autos hurt more. At 59 damage (as compared to Talon's 55), Ekko as an AP champion can also trigger a 3 hit passive with his Q projectile that comes with a slow (granted, minions can stall its release), doing a large chunk of damage. He also has a large fighting zone that slows, and should he enter it he is granted a shield that gives him bulkiness even if he doesn't land the stun. He also has a dash into a blink, much like Talon's minus the dash. It's great for dodging skillshots and re-engaging, or catching up/running away. It deals extra AP damage, and his ultimate is something we all know and love, so I'll leave you to ponder on that.

So... what gives? Talon was nerfed on the basis that he was a champion who was too strong with a targeted gap closer, and the silence was only the beginning. He provides "little counterplay" even though a 700 range dash is not too hard to see coming. Furthermore, Ekko, Zed, and Yasuo has similar targeted gap closers, and while Zed and Yasuo may not have an instant gap closer, Ekko does. And Ekko is a "utility assassin" that deals more damage than an upfront burst assassin like Talon. I understand that Talon is scary when ahead, and his Q can crit in the thousands range. However, he's only good when ahead, and the most he can do in teamfights is jump on the carry and hope he doesn't get blown up. If the team has any sort of peel, Talon is dead. He literally hands his body to the enemy team in hopes he will get his target, which may or may not happen because it takes a second for Talon to reset his auto attack. I am not complaining that Talon is underpowered, but it feels like complete crap when that Veigar you "counter" deals more damage with his Q than you do with your combo at level 3. Syndra is considered very weak at the moment, but Talon can't even lane against a Syndra who has some skill. She can harass, bully, peel, burst, and stomp Talon down in lane.

All I want is for Riot to address the issues of why Talon is the one being left the weakest. He is sub-par when it comes to assassinating against any mobile carries until he has a near full build of expensive AD items, and he can't duel anymore because his main engagement tool that let him win trades was replaced by a mediocre slow. The reasons he was nerfed was put into a champion with a more gimmicky kit, like Ekko, and it bothers me how Riot failed to address Talon at all. Riot, I just want to know what plans you have for Talon.

Also, I know is worse than Talon. Riot doesn't revert nerfs, so I feel he doesn't have much hope at the moment.