Melee assassins played well are some of the most annoying characters in the game so I am kind of OK with them being incredibly niche and hard to play…
Maiev, Alarak and Samuro are S tier?
Edit: Forgot about Zeratul.
Lel
Almost everything here is wrong
Title: no, most melee assasins are good, or even strong right now. Though gazlowe and butcher are pretty meh.
I’v been thinking and over the past several months or so, Melee assassins have been falling off left and right.
Incorrect: samuro and zeratul in fact both got nerfed recently, maeiv has been a top pick for a long time. Thrall is a very strong bruiser with a top tier solo lane game.
this is like saying “why pick Leoric when muradin can slow in an aoe AND stun?”
Different characters fill different roles.
True, ranged assasins are picked more. Because A: a ranged mage or aa hero is generally needed in a standart comp. B: there are more ranged characters in the game then melee. Medivh and Abathur are both viable picks but are picked less then a Jaina, not because they are worse but because they fill different less generalized needs.
Laughs in zeratul, samuro, butcher, murky, illidan, kerrigan
Illidan is a niche hero who requires other characters to help him, and has been like that for a long time. Illidan comps work if drafted well, but are unpopular. Thrall is a very common and strong pick. Samuro is an amazing character, but is kinda hard and requires some actual character knowledge to work. Maeiv is still good. nuff said.
Zeratul is prob the best melee assasin in the game. He has god tier aoe, combo potential, and single target burst that is almost unrivaled with one of the best mobility tools in the game.
This is fair. Illidan’s entire character design conflicts with the current burst meta, which means he will rarely be viable unless a meta shift occurs
the actual worst role in Support 
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Many of the “Melee” assassins aren’t really melee if you ask me. This is pretty much just given based on what form their AA takes.
Obviously the ones with strong poke will be the better performers. They’ve always had it rough and knowing when to go in and when not to are key when playing those heroes.
“Backseat hero type” ???
Your typical QM valeera waits for someone low health and point and click of course you can also do it with EQ zeratul or samy which is why i say very basic level.
Also the biggest bulk of valeera’s value is pvp centered whereas zeartul samy and other melees in general have a macro role to play which is not understood by lots.
Imo melee assassins here suffer from the “stay always in team” philosophy of the game.
They also usually make up for it by being really fast hot&run killers like Zera or really good at taking camps like Illidan and Samuro.
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A lot of assassins struggle to be too much use until enemies are at lower health. Even Genji can only really do so much before his team singles someone out.
But its especially true that people stand around waiting for the “right moment” that never comes with stealth heroes.
It’s odd that Gazlowe is considered a “melee assassin” but he has such tools that make him feel almost more like a mage. His role outside of combat is obvious, and even in combat he is almost better suited for zoning than punching people. Of course he gets better at it if you take mecha.
Melee assassins suffer from simple, old balance philosophy: high damage = low hp. And you are melee so you get a beating.
Tip the scales a bit and you get post-rework Kerrigan.
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Only Kerrigan and to a lesser extent Illidan are terrible now. Kerrigan is garbage through and through, but Illidan is more a victim of too many of his counters being highly pickable and popular. Oh and the plethora of CC.
Tip the scales a bit and you get a balanced Kerrigan, the balance team only knows how to throw the scales around and see where they land and in what condition.
totally not true. she has a blind too.
Blind doesn’t make sense for her kit, which is squishy deletion. Developer intentions aside, that is how she plays and how she is used. You wouldn’t draft valeera for her blind unless you just want to play her for whatever reason. There are other heroes who can counter heroes like Butcher well enough without sacrificing as much as you do by picking valeera
Overall, her only real niche that is not outclassed by other heroes is her powerful silence.
I don’t know. You do see Thrall fairly often.
No, they’ve always been higher risk and higher reward. Easier to screw up, but more conducive to a roll.
Of course, it doesn’t matter for jack squat crap if your team composition is trashy and nobody wants to play the team game.
If you like to play melee characters try LoL. Seriously.
They have characters that are pretty much like Valeera, Kerrigan or Illidan. But there is one difference. If a Hanzo is out of position HES DEAD. The reason I stayed with that game.