Greetings Mobafire readers,

First of all I would like to start with saying that this is my first guide. I aint asking you to be mild on the critics, since we all profit from it.

I will try to keep this guide up to date and make changes where I see fit...


Alistar is my favorite tanking character, due to his massive cc's and it aint always as easy to perfectly land combo's like Headbutt with Pulverize.

Personally I prefer my second build, due to the fact that it fits my personal play style (tanky aggressive).
I tested and played my first build, it works great - it all depends on what you, as a player, think that fits best to your way of playing.

Why do we love Alistar so much and why does the opposite team boils in anger when they see this meatshield coming at them.

Pro's

- Survivability
- AoE Heals (minor)
- Damage reduction Ultimate (-70%)
- Short cooldown cc's
- Long sustainability in lane
- Great pusher

Con's

- No real gap closer besides Flash or "wasting" Headbutt
- Not the easiest Champion to last hit minions, due to his passive

Main Ghost allows Alistar to roam around at a fast pace and gank people, it also allows him to get around everyone in a team fight, to catch the enemy who decide to run and to run away if you are struggling. ever pulverised but you were to far away to make it in time and Headbutt him? well when you have Flash as your summoner spell you can get in and become the center of the team fight just be flashing behind their team and Pulverize + Headbutt. allows you to travel around the map much faster and may be the reason to why your team may not lose any towers. If you dont have your mana regen runes or your just struggling to keep up with Alistar hunger for mana, Clarity should help. I personally am not the one screaming to take Clarity, but especially early game and mid game it comes in really handy, when your team mates are in trouble and you'll see you just don't have enough mana to do your Headbutt + Pulverize combo. You'll be failing your team. It has saved many lives and it'll continue to do so

SPACE

Alternatives Clairvoyance allows you to keep a constant check on the map,in case they have a jungler, MIAs, doing baron or dragon. Once the other teams notices your just pushing them around they will try CCing you, if you have Cleanse they will struggle.

Pretty obvious that we go for Pulverize first in most cases. In some cases you'll want to take Headbutt or [triumphant roar]] even, depening on the people you're laning against. If you're with a melee against 2 ranged, it might be more beneficial to take Headbutt first. Or when you see that you'll be getting harrased from the first minute, it's even advised to take Triumphant Roar. Pulverize is a great ability to keep the enemy pinned, this way, you receive less damage and you can do more since they are stunned.
After that we can go for our Triumphant Roar, depending on wether we are getting harrased or harassing them, put one point in Headbutt if you are harassing and when it doesn't looks like you'll be having a hard time anytime soon, this way you can use your combo straight away, from then on, you just switch between Pulverize and Triumphant Roar, depending on what's needed the most. If you see they are preasuring you, take Triunphant roar over Pulverize. And place a point in your Unbreakable Will whenever you can.

I would like to start with explaining that there is no perfect rune build. It all depends on personal preferences. I will go over explaining why I chose these runes.

Mark:
Greater Mark of Magic Penetration
Is pretty obvious, since we are building Alistar Tanky, we do need some magic penetration to create a reason for the enemy team to focus you, besides the fact that you are annoying cow that throws everyone around at will.

Seal
Greater Seal of Armor vs Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration
Depends on your personal preference in the first build. I see myself running oom pretty fast, especially early game, even with sheen. 1 or 2 decent initiations and you are close to being oom. Therefor I prefer tanking Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration over Greater Seal of Armor
However, if you are planning on changing some items or adding a Philosopher's Stone to your build, you are probably better of with Greater Seal of Armor.

Glyph
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist vs Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction
This really depends on wether you prefer being more tanky and having to wait a tad longer to use your skills or prefer spamming your abilities in a teamfight and being more cautious. Here applies the same way of thinking; if you're planning on taking more CDR items, then you're better off with Greater Glyph of Magic Resist, but on the other hand, if you prefer getting more MR items, I suggest taking Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction

Shatter Alistar

First of all, I prefer starting with Doran's Shield since it provides some armor and hp/5. These give you more sustainability in lane. Remember, sustainablity = more farm = more gold!
When you farmed a little bit and got off a first kill/assist or if you got killed, I pick up Boots. What you'll notice at the beginning when playing Alistar is that he goes oom pretty fast, that's why I choose for Sapphire Crystal, which we'll build into a Sheen later on. Most likely, you are still in lane, so keep on farming and trying to get some kills/assist (Try not to steal any kills, since your AP/AD carry benefits alot more from the gold then you do, so be happy with the assists). When you do, head back to the Headquarters and upgrade your Boots into Ionian Boots of Lucidity.
Now the ganking can commence!
From there on it's pretty straight forward, we want to get you tanky! So your first item should be one that gives Magic Resistance or Armor, depending on the enemy team. If they are AD heavy, pick up a Glacial Shroud, my favorite item, which we'll build into a Frozen Heart later on. I really enjoying having that item on my side since the massive armor and CDR it provides, and the mana is a great bonus!
If the enemy team is AP heavy, I prefer going for an Abyssal Mask, since it provides great Magic Resistance and a great amount of Ability power, which comes in handy for making you an important player to focus on. Another option is Force of Nature or Banshee's Veil. We continue the build further as planned if things go smooth, if they don't, see what you need most, Armor, Magic resistance or Ability Power. When you think you got enough of the 3 critical stats mentioned, you can always take some more HP/AP, HP/Armor or HP/MR. It's always a bonus to add some more number to that health pool. For some reason it gives me a more secure feeling.

Sustaining Alistar

To sustain in lane alot longer early game I pick Doran's Shield first. This will get you tankier from lvl 1 and you can easily regen your health with Triumphant Roar and the HP/5 from Doran's Shield.
When you go back you'll want to pick up Boots together with some health pots or/and wards. Now that you have Boots, it's alot easier to use your shatter combo Headbutt + Pulverize. I prefer picking up Mobility Boots on Alistar, since it helps to quickly move over the map to help your teammates who are in trouble, especially early/mid-game. In late game it's perfect for chasing that last man standing in a teamfight and kicking him back in your team, who'll devour that champion like starving dogs!
Since Aegis of the Legion is cheap and very effective, since you'll barely be running solo, this is a great item in general!
I usually then take Rod of Ages, which will provide you with a nice HP and mana bonus, in addition, the AP is brings to the table is very viable, since you'll start becoming a serious threat, your dmg will increase and you will be deadly, a reason, not to let Alistar wonder around in team fights.
I mostly take Frozen Heart or Banshee's Veil after that, depending on the opposite team. Most probably, when you'll be building one of these items, the game will be coming to an end.

Acceptable items

Of course we have different items which are as viable as the ones I prefer playing with, I'll put some of them in a list with a brief explanation.

AP ITEMS

+ + : Great items if you are tanky enough or have a gold advantage when your team has plenty or fed AP Champions

: This is a magnificant item, it can be a great replacement for Rod of Ages, the great thing about it is that it slows enemy champions with your passive, the real "STAMPEDE!" item ;)!


TANKISH ITEMS

: Great item as well, makes you pretty solid against AD. I would advice starting with a Ruby Crystal to later change in a Heart of Gold for the extra 5g/5sec.

: More of a support item for keeping yourself alive. However - This can be used in a tanky build, if you have plenty of AP. Only then will it bring out it's real potential.

: One of the best magic resistance items, provides additional HP/sec and movement speed, which is always nice to have.

: Not the most common or greatest item, but if you really don't want to be looking at your mana, this is the item. The 30 MR is a small bonus.

Basicly what it all comes down to is to stay around team mates, since Alistar is a team player. Be sure to engage team fights, so the focus starts on you.

Please vote and +rep me, if you think I deserve it

Credits:
Thanks to jhoijhoi for her wonderful guide which can be found HERE

20 December 2011 // Created the guide
27 December 2011 // Made some changes in the skill sequence
30 December 2011 // Added picture in Introduction