This is a bit different, not a melee build, but to illustrate that many things are possible, this build uses ONLY maul (the werebear form of leap) and is extremely strong and tanky:
Aschere's Vinebear Monolith Speed Clearer 0.8.5 | 10K EHP | ~50-100K DPS | Very Fast Clear | New Player and Hardcore friendly | Detailed Written Guide | 200+ Empowered
Just an example, I am sure you could make something very viable around processing earthquake or upheaval. And the cooldown is pretty short if you take the nodes reducing it, not a big issue.