Merlin is awesome. I always get a chuckle when mindless attack takes out someone
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Agwe yesā¦Certainly Niche. His ability seems like that of a tankā¦ butā¦ his stats are notā¦
Sumitomo being a red 4* counterattacker has merit, with the added mana is a diamond in the rough.
My favorite is when Merlinās attack means suicide.
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I gave a basic trial by 8-7 to Sumiās ability, and on the first hit he seems to gain 10% mana. I donāt know how much it decrases per further hit yet, but if someone has more precise data, Iād love to see that. Of course I tested mine at A1L1, with a 1/8 special, but even then he could 1-shot an 8-7 mob, and do perhaps 1/5th damage to a yeti.
Sadly, as far as I know, he canāt combo with Wilbur. Although it would have been cool.
I was wondering if my boy Merlin was considered a niche hero or not.
Definitely my favorite. He and his buddy Hansel are a great mana combo, just need careful timing.
I use them on all color titans they control the beast while the rest of the team hits.
Someone needs to really define Niche, is it because they are not regular heroes or because their specials are unique and need a learning curve. A lot of those in this game.
I donāt know if Iād call Wilbur a niche hero or a singularity hero ā there is definitely nothing else close to him, putting spirit link on the enemy.
I love him raiding, so much fun, 'tho you gotta be careful against defense buf/debuf heroes. For a while, my fave 3/2 red stack was Tusky, Wilbur, and Gravemaker with 2 of whatever else I wanted. (Now that Ares is leveling up, Iām re-thinking that)
Wu Kong is another singularity hero (OK, Tarlak kinda changed that, but heās rare enough) but heās so essential that he doesnāt really belong on the niche list.
Idk, I like to use Merlin a lot and think heās a great hero
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imo, Niche = a specialty hero (one with a particular set of skills, or stats that only make him relevent in some uses) that is not extremely versatile (that excludes Merlin, Hel, Prot, Hansel, Gretel, Wilbur, Jackal, Falcon, Panther, etc.)
Mayve @JonahTheBard could add a definition to the fictionary.
I would also add Guardian Owl and Guardian Kong to the list.
Merlin is great FUN to play. I am the only member of my Alliance who has him, they have gotten tired of me going on about what he does, however with the Avalon event coming up, I am getting my āhow to play Merlinā guide ready 
Nothing like watching Caedmon take out Grimm in a raid and then if I get lucky he kills himself.
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Good idea, but there will be quite a lot of debate about who is niche!
I would suggest we note that niche is different to unique.
Niche suggests that they have a particular task, but there could be lots of similar heroes. The āramming pulveriserā trio could be considered a niche in that there skill gets them a place on the team regardless of stats.
Amoena is unique but does she have a niche? People seem to like her in different places.
So Iāll see if thereās agreement on a definition 
A Niche Hero: (Defined by DJ Quixo)
A niche hero is a hero thatās used
for only one purpose for you
Although you could
no reason you would
play them all the time thats the truth.
giggle
What I mean is this, a niche hero is a luxury. A hero that isnāt at all versatile, that you use them against one type of enemy or particular situation, but not for regular raiding.
Example: Boomer is a weak hitter but gives adjacent heroes big buff against yellow. If you have no other purples, you bring him along with yellow titans becauseā¦ well he pretty much sucks everywhere else.
Aegir is another niche, because people were expecting a strong defensive tank, but the only credible use Iāve seen so far is on offense when you have no other options.
Mok-Arr? Ultimate niche 5* where you either go in with an all-dark team, or spend the time painfully working around his stupid special.
Does that help? Does anyone agree/disagree?
Merlin is versatile enough to not be niche, in my book.
I wouldnāt use him on defense (unless you have no other options) because humans can avoid his special for the most part and the AI is stupid about its targeting.
So hereās my working definition of ānicheā: a hero that really shines only in very particular circumstances, but otherwise is probably not a good choice.
Gobbler is the clearest ānicheā hero, as a big part of his special is eating minions. No minion-casting foes, Gobbler should stay home.
Then thereās the question of āwhen does a niche turn into a whole room?ā Wu Kong has a huge role in almost every titan hit (at least not-yellow, at least until 11* titans), but Iād call ātitan hitsā more a room-sized space than a niche. Arthur, OTOH, I view as a red-titan specialist; he mostly stays home (in favor of Alasie or Magni) in other circumstances. Red titans might be a niche.
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Arthur: Great against red tanks, titans and his tile damage is great for stacking & snacking. He might be niche for some but he would be the centerpiece of my team 
Agreed, the only thing he sucks at is defense.
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Iād say niche encompasses the fact that itās not a widely used hero. For example, Wu Kong and Wilbur wouldnāt fall under this category as almost everyone uses them for titans. Niche would be heroes who get the least amount of love or exposure, but maybe youāre that one player in your alliance that loves them to death. 
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I may be the only person in my alliance that likes or uses boomer. Certainly the only one who has 4T him.
See? Perfect example!
I fed him to Khiona. 
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No no no, that would make Merlin Niche again. 
Just when I agreed with DJ Quixo that he wasnāt niche.
Wouldnāt most niche heros fit into the " lousy at defense" category? Which is why they arenāt widely seen?
I keep mine just because I keep at least one of every 4* or 5* that I get. (I wish SGG would create hero āfoldersā so I could just put these collector items away and not have to scroll past them at feeding time.)