Taliyah Mid Guide
About Me
I like Taliyah I play her a lot
What qualifies you to make this guide?
I like Taliyah she's awesome and also i was diamond that one time
Is everything in this guide objectively correct?
Yes you should follow everything here perfectly and never change anything (I'm lying).
Build & Runes
The two main build paths for Taliyah are burn and one-shot. Burn is pretty standard - but a must if they have health stackers. One-shot is for very squishy teams - should not be played every game. For runes, make sure you always have either manaflow or PoM. Replace adaptive shards with AS shard for easier farming.
Burn
Phase Rush is the most standard keystone for Taliyah, works in every matchup.
Aery is good to harass in easier lanes - take in free matchups.
Always
Always. You can get early T1 boots against poke mages.
LC is ideal first back Rush tear if going Seraph's
Choose EITHER blackfire OR seraph's. Seraph's if you need the lifeline shield - otherwise blackfire.
This build wants a lot of AH. Cryptbloom for heavy MR, cosmic drive for mobility, deathcap if fed, zhonya's and banshee's for defense. Rylai's if you're feeding so hard you become support taliyah.
Pretty standard - never wrong.
Personal preference - would only recommend for more experienced players.
Potentially against Lissandra/Annie/etc. but very situational.
Always
Blackfire Torch → Ionian Boots of Lucidity → Liandry's Torment → Cosmic Drive → Cryptbloom → Rabadon's Deathcap
Seraph's Embrace → Ionian Boots of Lucidity → Liandry's Torment → Zhonya's Hourglass → Cosmic Drive → Cryptbloom
Blackfire Torch → Ionian Boots of Lucidity → Liandry's Torment → Mejai's Soulstealer → Rabadon's Deathcap → Cosmic Drive
One-Shot
Kill everything below 2k health instantly.
Always good - never wrong.
Sorc shoes are great for this build. Ionian's if your team has feats.
Owie ouchie damage
Shadowflame and deathcap for infinite damage glitch, void staff for MR and zhonya's for evil assassins.
Pretty standard - never wrong.
Personal preference - would only recommend for more experienced players.
Potentially against Lissandra/Annie/etc. but very situational.
Always
Luden's Companion → Sorcerer's Shoes → Horizon Focus → Shadowflame → Rabadon's Deathcap → Void Staff
Luden's Companion → Sorcerer's Shoes → Horizon Focus → Zhonya's Hourglass → Rabadon's Deathcap → Cryptbloom
Game Phases
Laning Phase
Taliyah is great at shoving minions by using Threaded Volley on the back wave. Use Unraveled Earth sparingly as it is high mana cost and your main survival tool for ganks. Your main goal is to farm for Lost Chapter as fast as possible to get online.
Mid Game
Start roaming! Accompany your jungler at objectives and use Weaver's Wall to ruin bot lane's day. Rock Surfing allows you to get to fights quicker than your lane opponent.
Late Game
Play slow and play smart. If you are playing burn you want to sit in the back and spam Threaded Volley on anyting that moves. Save Unraveled Earth for key abilities and put it in locations that will make it difficult for enemies to dash to you and your ADC. Your Weaver's Wall can be used to separate enemies from objectives and buy your team some time.
Tips & Tricks
- While your general combo is Seismic Shove into Unraveled Earth, there's nothing wrong with using Unraveled Earth if you are fighting an enemy with dashes. This will prevent them from dashing out of your initial Seismic Shove.
- You don't always have to ride Weaver's Wall. It can be used to cut off enemies from their towers and force a flash.
- Using worked-ground Threaded Volley first can help to land your Seismic Shove.
- Play at your ideal range - Taliyah outranges many champions in the game. Abuse her Threaded Volley by walking back and forth at the same time as the enemy to stay at the maximum range.
- You can cast worked-ground Threaded Volley followed by a quick Flash to launch the boulder from your flash's location, catching enemies off guard.
- You can auto attack during your Threaded Volley. This can help you farm in laning phase and add a little extra damage for early skirmishes.
Matchup Guide
The associated matchup guide is mostly based on my general knowledge of the matchups and can vary greatly in different elos or with players who actually know what they're doing. If you disagree please don't call me slurs <3
