User blog comment:Supp0rt4n00bz/Broken Xin is broken!/@comment-5556439-20130729084230/@comment-5545048-20130730123825

No, I don't think 90% of the tags are incorrect, I just don't think it's smart to use tags as an example for anything because they are infamous for the many flaws they have. For example, Xin Zhao. Despite what you said, me and the vast majority  of the community (including pro players) think he is not a carry or an assassin. We think he is a tanky initiator. Do you speak for this majority of the community being incorrect?

And I really don't want to be one of those guys who blindly follows the pro's around, but in this case I will use them as an example. Building Xin like a carry is just a way of finishing your games faster when you are already fed or as a surprise element for people who didn't expect you to build so much damage. But that's a one trick pony. Anybody with a skill level compared to or higher than you, will maybe be surprised once, but will wipe you off the map after.

Xin doesn't have the tools to burst someone fast enough or get away with it beyond midgame. I'm sure you have examples of games where you did, but I'm just going to assume you were better than the people you played against anyway.

Another thing is the fact that you need that dolla' to buy the D4M4G3Z, which you won't often receive as jungle Xin. (Not talking bout toplane Xin because I haven't faced one in ages and I won't pretend like I have any idea about him.)

To round it all up, Xin Zhao is expensive and not efficient enough to be played as a carry/assassin, and in my opinion only good when you are already fed. (That said, Xin is one of the characters that can pull that off more easily than most because of his early game power) So he's more often much better off just being build as the tanky initiator he is known for in our current meta.