User blog comment:DreaMPaniC/Melee Carries- High risk high reward?/@comment-60764-20130822045732

As I see it? Melee carries are 'fine', but they're presence in the game has been partially phased out due to the update of items (and lack of catering to them) while Riot and everyone else enforces the 'meta'. Carries only go bot lane, they only need to be ranged, et cetera...there's not a lot of room to shake things up in the minds of people.

It doesn't help that S3 gave melee carries a single item to perform with (Tiamat/Hydra) in what seemed like more of a accident while other classes got a slew of toys (ranged carries and ranged in general got Runaan's, as well as carry items being geared more toward range oriented folk/abuse, same with mages, tanks, even pure jungle oriented folk). Stronger melees (and weaker ones) either had to join the ranks of the "bruiser" despite not fitting the role or just fade into obscurity.

Oddly enough, most melee carries work in ARAM where they fall or seem to have to compromise with the meta in SR (the ones you listed, save for Aatrox, Gangplank, Trundle, Smashus, Garen (if you're feeling so bold/don't feel like building a tank no matter how derp it is), Lee Sin, Nocturne (ish), Pantheon, Poppy, Rengar(?), Udyr, Vi, Win Nhao, Zed and pontentially Shaco and Sion, too).

S'all I wanted to say.