While the Dread Lord has a melee attack he isn't the best melee fighter. Inferno can also be used to break the spell channeling of enemy Heroes. Inferno is helpful for clearing trees and for summoning the powerful Infernal. Carrion Swarm can be used to damage collections of units.
Vampiric Aura is very useful in team games. The Vampiric Aura also heals Ghouls when they attack the Creeps and enemy units that do not have Spell Immunity. The main reason players pick the Dread Lord first is for Sleep, which is useful against enemy Hero rushes and for disabling powerful Creeps for the early Creeping part of the game. All of his abilities are especially useful. Typically most Undead players pick the Dread Lord as their first Hero followed by the Death Knight or Lich. The Dread Lord is a powerful and popular Hero. Though Dread Lords have been known to revel in the gore of single combat, they generally prefer to manipulate and beguile their enemies from the shadows. Yet, at Kil'jaeden's request, the vampiric Dread Lords were sent to watch over the Lich King Ner'zhul, and ensure that he carried out his orders to sow chaos in the mortal world. These cunning, malefic beings once served as the demon Kil'jaeden's most trusted lieutenants. Dread Lords are incredibly powerful demons who wield the powers of darkness and mental domination.