Shiv is a high-burst melee assassin in Deadlock who stacks Rage to unleash devastating close-range combos. Serrated Knives and Killing Blow punish low-health enemies with executes that reset his aggression cycle. Best builds stack Spirit Power and Weapon damage to reach Killing Blow thresholds faster against priority targets. Shiv is strongest when diving isolated targets and chaining kills to stay in Rage for extended periods. He struggles against crowd control and poke-heavy compositions that deny his melee range. Currently a strong snowball carry who can dominate once ahead, and a high-risk pick when behind.