Malthael by Demolij

[Level 1]
- Weight of a Soul:

Malthael emphasizes the fact that death comes no matter what. He is good at constantly dealing damage to enemies which makes him similar to Zeratul, except he's much more all-in and doesn't have the mobility he has. But while he misses out in mobility, he certainly doesn't miss out in damage or utility, and certainly has more range. Soul Crucible allows for a massive spike in damage comparable to Li Ming's Critical Mass, allowing him to hugely increase his damage and go on a killing spree after the first kill, and keeping him alive much longer than he deserves. Unlike Li Ming he really needs the first kill though since that's his ticket to survival, but he doesn't need to directly participate in the kill to get the value, and if an ally can get a kill across the map it can assist you wherever you are on the map. He's really good in pick comps where he can snowball after the first kill.

Death Shroud grants you everything you need. The lifesteal is good for sustain in lane or during a fight alongside the Soul Crucible lifeateal, and the bonus range is amazing and can let you score kills from an absurd distance away, although the range of the ability is practically melee so you still have to get close to be able to use it. Whirling Mist can keep enemies right in your range and deal damage to them all the while as long as you can get close enough to cast it and then stick next to them for the full duration. This is made easy with Sever, your long ranged damaging mobility tool with a pretty hefty delay, and if you can get behind the enemy you can pull them along with you and right in a nice position for Whirling Mists. It can be used as an escape with good timing, and the range isn't shabby at all, but bear in mind that if you hit anyone they will be pulled towards you making it a little hard to escape with. It's used best when diving in towards an enemy to supplement your damage and get into position.

Both heroics are amazing for securing kills, but they do it in different ways. Harvest isn't super great if you just use it for the direct damage, but if you use it on low health enemies the potential multikills are really good. It shuts down heals really hard by killing the enemy before they have a chance to recuperate. Bear in mind that it does account for shields so Tassadar makes things a bit difficult, and the damage can be reduced by damage reduction so a Hardened Shield can ruin your day. Soul Vortex is more of a teamwork ability that's also really good for securing kills. It pulls all nearby enemies right up next to Malthael for a wombo combo set-up kind of like Gazlowe's Black Hole. The damage it deals is nice too, and using it to snag a fleeing enemy and hit them with your abilities is pretty good. It does have a travel time though, so enemies with quick reflexes and good timing can teleport over the spirits, although they can't dash through them and will still get caught.

Well, initially I wasn't going to do this guy, but since Blizz decided to do Auriel first I racked my mind to come up with this design. This guy forced me to rework my other designs for better character, but I think the musical chairs I did with the Traits worked out greatly in my favour. In case you didn't realize I like melee characters and melee assassins and think we need more than Zeratul Thrall Greymane Illidan (Butcher and Kerrigan are oddballs). I did try and differentiate him from my VanCleef Itherael and Alarak designs, and I do believe that I succeeded.