Goal:
The goal of playing Kerrigan and the reason you pick her is because she is a wonderful brawler. She deals damage, provides Crowd Control (stun + pull) and has survivability with her passive and talents. Your goal in every game you play as her is to help the tank/Warrior initiate fights and scare the other team's carries/supports due to the damage you output. You can solo almost every other hero besides maybe Illidan, so never be afraid of a fight unless you are outnumbered. You can also be a lone wolf and try to solo people or make picks, similar to a Zeratul.

The Combo:
For Kerrigan, there is one basic combo you NEED to know. W (Impaling Blades) + E (Primal Grasp). This combo takes some practice as depending on the talents you take--Sweeping Grasp lv 1 or Blade Torrent lv 16 or neither--and how far the opponent is away, you need to place your stun (W - Impaling Blades). If landed, this combo provides an opportunity for you and your team to do massive damage to an opponent or a group of opponents for a brief period of time.

Fighting as Kerrigan:
In addition to the combo, the biggest aspect of playing Kerrigan is being able to get in and out at the right times to A) Do a lot of damage, B) Soak damage for your team, C) Get out alive. As shown in the builds posted above, I frequently take the Adaption talent at lv 7 which allows me to jump to allies with Ravage (Q). This aids with the passive mechanic to Ravage that resets the ability upon killing an enemy with it. Or, if you jump in with Ravage and can survive until the cooldown is up, you can jump to one of your backline squishies to get out. This playstyle is also the reason I always take the Maelstrom Heroic Ability at lv 10 and very frequently take the talent "Omegastorm" at lv 20. Although. if it fits your playstyle, Bolt of the Storm at lv 20 is a good option for getting out of close fights.

Importance of her Passive:
Although I haven't talked about it yet, her passive, "Assimilation Shield", provides for a lot of tankiness during teamfights if you land all of your abilities and deal lots of basic attack damage. So keep that in mind so you can play confidently with her and help your tank initiate to take pressure off your other carries.

Being a Brawler:
If you enjoy more of a Lone Wolf or Brawler playstyle, I would recommend the final build I created above, the "Lone Wolf Brawler" as it takes useful talents for being able to solo players. Lv 1 I would recommend any talent except for the extended Grasp range. It depends on what you decide you need, based on the other team's comp. Envenom and Searing attacks are amazing for Soloing players. Maelstrom is useful for the extra damage and survivability. Rewind is for extra CC and Blood for Blood is for extra health when fighting. Lv 20 talent could be either the Omegastorm or the Bolt of the Storm whether or not you think you need an escape or extra umph to your Heroic Ability. The biggest downside to this build is all the actives. It is often hard for people to manage. If you want this playstyle in another build I would take: lv 4 Psionic Pulse (E) or Focused Attack (even though I find Envenom vastly superior to either of those), lv 7 Battle Momentum or Impaling Swarm depending on if you keep track of the changing CDs, lv 13 Double Strike > Sprint (added damage or chase/run away_, lv 16 Blade Torrent to make sure you land your W's stun.

In order of my favorite maps to play Kerrigan on.

Sky Temple:

Kerrigan excels at the skirmish/teamfight style this map is suited for. If you win a fight at a shrine, you can secure the siege damage for your team along with any other shrines that spawned. I enjoy the Adaption talent at lv 7 which allows me to jump to allies with Ravage (Q). There have been countless times I have been caught on this map and had a teammate or minion nearby that I was able to jump to and escape death.

Cursed Hollow:

Cursed Hollow is designed so that you can be severely punished for losing a teamfight and giving your opponents a tribute. Kerrigan can jump over the nasty terrain with her Ravage (Q) to initiate or flee fights extremely efficiently. I would recommend picking her with a tank who can jump the walls as well.

Haunted Mines:

Mines is another map that highly depends on teamfighting to secure the skulls. The biggest issue I have is with the Golem that spawns. Your abilities don't do much to it, so it is simply basic attacking it until it dies.

Garden of Terror:

Similar to the reasoning of the mines, however, Garden usually involves more pushing/split pushing or even avoiding teamfights as there are 2 sides of the map where you can collect seeds. While you can CC the opponent's plant, it doesn't matter as much as Garden favors pushing heroes. To do well, pick Kerrigan with a team that wants to roam as 5 and teamfight, instead of splitting.

Blackheart's Bay:

While fights break out frequently in the Bay, this map thrives on chaos and camp killing. Sure, Kerrigan can handle those fine, but I feel other heroes are much more suited for this map. To make best advantage of Kerrigan on this map, roam with your team and dominate turn-in battles.

Dragon Shrine:

Dragon Shrine thrives on being split and being able to handle yourself on your own. If I play Kerrigan here, I pretty much almost always pick the "Lone Wolf Brawler" build I created above. Largely for survivability, to escape the goon squads from the other team and being able to take on other heroes 1 on 1. I listed this map last as it is a different playstyle then I encourage throughout this guide, but I don't want to write it off, as it is strong within itself. If you decide to go this build, please read the extra information about the build in the "General Rule of Thumb" section.

I (Zeoderos/Zeo) have played MOBAs for multiple years. Starting on the original DOTA on Warcraft 3 as a casual player, I was intrigued by the idea of controlling and building a hero and playing on a team vs another team. After quite a few years, I was told about League of Legends, where I reached mid Platinum. After I got invited to Heroes of the Storm I lost interest in League of Legends and became very passionate about Heroes of the Storm. I was High Diamond/Low Master MMR in Alpha and am maintaining that in Beta. I am a Jack of all Trades and play almost every role--changing depending on how much I am enjoying a role. For more insight, check out my stream on Twitch (username is the same).