This is the general guidelines as to how I play Alistar to really capture the Tank Master that is Alistar, check out my video
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For some reason youtube tags aren't working so here is the link Alistar Commentary Video

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NOTE They removed Innervating Locket in recent patch

NEW ITEM CHOICES FOR BEGINNING AREor
*In upcoming patch they are putting in cooldown reduction boots. This is something to ponder I'll test it with him and get back to you guys on it*

Recent Alistar Changes -

Alistar v1.0.0.105

* Fixed a bug with Pulverize where the stun particle would show over units that don't get stunned

That's all of the recent patches, in the archives he did get his pulverise stun reduced from 2.5 to 2 I believe, so all in all he is balanced. It's not just Riot overlooking an underpowered hero, if used right Alistar is amazing High ELO Low ELO wherever! I don't suggest using AP Alistar, you will find beyond getting some pretty Headbutt and Pulverize spikes, you will be taking kills from much needed carries, you will be squishier than you want and make intiating a hell of a lot harder, and your cooldowns are too grand for you to be AP w/ only two damaging moves. I've tried it out with Alistar many times and it hasn't worked out nicely. Early game was impressive, but after that it's merely dissapointing.



My video explains almost everything you need to know while using Alistar, but Mobafire is dumb and makes the guide require 5,000 characters before it shows up on the listings for builds of the champion. So i have to write more stuff. So I'm going to explain the progression of the game and what you objective should be early, mid, and late game.

ITEM CHOICES - I'm gonna make an analogy that some may get and others may not understand, however! I like to think of item choices in league of legends as in how a coach approaches a game in basketball. You can run through all the plays you want and be as text book as possible, but when it comes down to it you aren't going to be able to have a set play for everything, some teams will throw things at you that your plays don't cover. It's the same with league of legends. I can go over all the situations in which you need certain items, however when it comes the specific hero match up and team compisition. It's up to you to decide what to get. If you see a heavy magic team you may wanna think about postponing the randuin's omen and going for a Banshees Veil. Or maybe the team has a lot of AP casters, but with disables so Force of Nature isn't going to cut it, you may need the Banshees to block those disables, or maybe you need Merc Treds to reduce those disables. ITS ALL JUDGMENT I CAN ONLY HELP YOU SO MUCH! Practice makes perfect. Play Alistar like a religion and get the feel from him and adapt this GUIDE <-- THAT'S A KEYWORD b/c it's not a book to live buy, it's to guide you, and find YOUR way.

PRE-GAME
Masteries are above, if you're getting flash and teleport... spec for imp teleport obviously and take the point out of cleanse and put it into the extra regen.

Summoner Spells
I prefer Flash and Teleport, but not all of us bad boys are level 30's so Ghost and Cleanse will replace them accordingly, Flash - Pulverize is your bread and butter kill-combo so when you get flash I suggest changing over.

Starting Item - Ruby Crystal or Mana Manipulator depending on who you are laning with. If it's move spammer... get it, I prefer Ruby Crystal but Mana Manipulator is a nice courtesy.

Runes - I use all flat health runes for all my characters... if i were to analyze it more I'd suggest getting some Hp regeneneration w/ health quints and maybe some extra Magic Resist... I'm not a big rune guy

Some Good Laning Partners
- Pantheon
- Veigar
- Tristana
- Jax
- Cho'Gath
- Singed
- Annie
- Akali
- Lux
- Kennen
- Miss Fortune
- Irelia
- Vladimir
- Xin Zhao
- And MORE! ALISTAR CAN LANE W/ ANY1
Early Game -
You need to choose a laning partner with lots of CC and burst damage, your kills are dependent on combo's it's hit or miss. I prefer to lane w/ a tristana. Don't blow your mana on pulverize and headbutt unless it's to kill a champ or save you, and use your heal accordingly. Push the tower hard, this is where most of the damage you should be receiving should be from. Push hard and stay in the lane as long as possible only go back if necessary. Since you have triumphant roar, you are able to be pretty aggresive on the front lines getting last hits and creep denying as much as possible. Also take advantage of Alistar's passive. As I said before, you should be pushing hard, with your passive the towers should be dropping pretty quickly w/ you and your lane partner beating on them at the same time. By the time you make your first trip back, you should have your kindlegem and R1 Boots.

Mid Game - TP Back from your first buy and keep pushing. The first tower should be down and you should be working on the second tower. The other team may try and gank but you pushing with your lane mate will detract attention from the other lanes and let your teamates push. You are tough enough and have enough disables to escape a 2-3 man gank, w/ ur partner maybe 4, but careful if the enemies go missing b/c it's likely to gank you. Once they have stopped laning and are trying to control the lane go back and buy

Late Game - Now you should be toting a soul shround and mobility at the minimum. Go middle and push w/ your team from now on you are 5 man squad all the time. Intiate, disable, heal, and tank. Popping your ulti to get 1 kill at this point is worth it. Continue to do as such and prosper and you should come out victorious

If there is any other tips or guidance you need send me a message on my youtube account
youtube.com/wiredeyetv

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Thanks all and hope you benefit from this!