Hi, I've been playing Heroes since Beta and I really love this game, especially with The Butcher lately. I really enjoy the popular auto attack based build but I wanted to find other fun builds for the Butcher.
With a lot of practice and a bit of theory crafting I'd like to break down 2 of my favorite builds I enjoy using as the Butcher. In the talents section I label each talent based on whether it is better suited for Burst or Tank based build. Please note that Butcher is not a Tank and should still be played cautiously.

Invigoration
Burst - This talent is great since Hamstring will be your primary skill. Hamstring is already on a low CD at 4 seconds and when hitting heroes (which you should be doing a lot!) will lower this to 3 seconds and refund mana. There's no reason not to be abusing this ability.

Block
Tank - This is a highly underrated talent. If my team is lacking a tank I will opt for this talent which aids Butcher in not being so squishy.

Chop Meat
Not a great talent. You shouldn't have trouble getting stacks and you should be avoiding death. You can already solo many merc camps later on anyway.

Victuals
A great talent but not a focus here. If you lack a healer take this one.

Flail Axe
I feel this talent is a bit overrated. Sure an increase in Hamstring length is good but you shouldn't be having any trouble hitting heroes with Q anyway especially coupled with Ruthless Onslaught. In order to benefit from the next talent Brutal Strike we need to be close to our enemy to take advantage of the immediate auto attack. You'll also most likely be using Lamb to the Slaughter rooting heroes in place. Besides we want more damage, not range!

Unrelenting Pursuit
Tank - If you're opting for the tank build, then less CD on your initiating talent is a must have.

Cheap Shot
Burst - Great burst talent and severely underrated. A lot of guides are saying to take this IF you have a CC based team but they fail to realize that you can stun for 1 second with Ruthless Onslaught! In addition the ult Lamb to the Slaughter will only add to this damage which I will explain later.

Envenom
An ok talent but I feel as butcher you want to buff his great talents instead of adding a DoT based damage. This talent may pull ahead in damage over Cheap Shot but remember the tradeoff is burst versus DoT. In addition there is a 60 sec CD so you cant utilize it that much compared to every 3 seconds with Hamstring. This guide focuses on burst damage or tank build so if you opt for the popular auto attack build then perhaps you can get this talent.

Brutal Strike
Burst - Amazing talent after testing. Your Hamstring already allows for an auto attack right after so why not buff it? This is what Burst damage is all about.

Insatiable Blade
Tank - This talent already heals for a lot but more never hurts especially if we are trying to be more tanky. Remember that the healing is doubled versus heroes so instead of 150% heal it would be 200% with each swing. Just remember that if your branded target leaves then so should you!

Abattoir
Awesome talent. But you popular builds get outta here.

Final Assault
Lame talent is lame.

Furnace Blast
Tank - Ok so I am a bit torn but hear me out. I know that this talent is more in line with burst damage but it can be countered or dodged with other hero talents. Anub'arak's Web Blast comes to mind. The thing about this talent is that it really shines when you are able to use it on the entire enemy team. With this in mind you either need tanky talents to sustain a team fight or a well coordinated team that can bunch everyone up for you.


Lamb to the Slaughter
Burst - Ok so this talent is awesome and my favorite. This scales very well with your heavily buffed Hamstring build with Cheap Shot adding more damage to rooted targets. If you land this talent on someone in a safe place there's no reason why you shouldn't get the kill. You should be able to get two Hamstring hits on the hero (once on initiating and once while chained) which will be massive damage since each hit will do added talent AND auto damage after each hit. Besides, I really love the clanky chain sound when a hero can't get away.

Burning Rage
Lame talent. Not enough damage and better options at this level. It could help with stealth heroes but you can just get used to spotting the cloaked areas and Hamstring away which should be up anyway with Invigoration.

Savage Charge
Burst - A great talent especially for those beefy tanks who think they can survive anything. Note that it says 15% damage on their CURRENT health so you'll want to try using this on a full health hero if possible.

Crave Flesh
Ok talent. We want damage though!

Spell Shield
Tank - Great for the tanky build.

Crippling Slam
Burst - Ok so this doesn't exactly add damage but it buffs our already amazing talent. With this talent, the Hamstring slow is increased to 2.5 seconds and the CD is 3 seconds with Invigoration. You should be able to repeatedly bash them with Q using this talent which is what bursting is all about!

Enraged
Tank - Great option for a tank build. Less time being under CC and more attack speed when low on health to use Butchers Brand to heal up quickly.

Blood Frenzy
Great talent but we are not focusing on auto attack damage but instead Hamstring damage!

Fires of Hell
Tank - This is a good talent but works better with coordinated teams. If you are opting for the tanky build you will more than likely be in the thick of it so more damage shouldn't hurt.

Slaughterhouse
Although I favor the original one chained enemy, I do not favor this one. Again it works well in coordinated teams who can bunch everyone up with either Johanna's Condemn, Gazlowe's Grav-O-Bomb 3000 or Zagara's Devouring Maw. If you do happen to land a nice team chain, then Nova can use her Precision Strike to annihilate the enemy team. The possibilities are endless!

Nexus Blades
Burst - Wait I thought you said we weren't focusing on auto attack damage!? You're right! But this talent scales really well with Brutal Strike which adds to your base damage for those insane crits right after Hamstring hits! It also slows the enemy leaving more room for even more Hamstring galore. Did I mention you should be using Hamstring?

Bolt of the Storm
Great for mobility. I personally do not use but I can see it being useful either in chasing down an enemy or as an escape.

While the popular auto attack build that uses Abattoir and Blood Frenzy is good, this guide focuses on burst damage utilizing Hamstring for immediate damage. Do not be afraid of letting a hero escape. The purpose of this build is to disrupt their health pools considerably and to fight another day. Too often I see Butcher players endlessly chase a hero only to find themselves in the middle of the entire enemy team and then die. If this is what you want then go for the tanky build that uses Furnace Blast. Watch out because a good team will focus you down quickly and avoid your branding. Also remember that if you make a mistake with Ruthless Onslaught you can actually tap the button again to cancel the charge! Just note that if you picked up Unrelenting Pursuit you will have to wait the entire CD since it works on impact but having a longer CD is better than dying!

The Burst build is my favorite so far. Should you find a lone hero, you will open with Ruthless Onslaught dealing 15% of their hp as damage and stun which you should then immediately fire off a Hamstring which should do double damage, and an immediate 50% buffed auto attack. Then throw a Lamb to the Slaughter to root the enemy and fire another Hamstring and auto buffed attack. With this combo you'd be surprised just how fast you can take a player's health down. Just remember that this focuses on one hero at a time which is what assassins should be doing anyway.

Hope you enjoy and happy Hamstringing!