First of all, I'd like to thank exemplus and Loucuras for creating this team with me. The champion I play is Alistar, I'll try to depict their way of playing as closely as I can. Anyway, thank you for the time taken to answer my questions.

You shall not read me brag.
You shall not read this is the best possible team composition (except here).
You shall not read these are the best possible runes, masteries, items, etc... for champion x,y,z.
You shall read about strategy (I hope).
You shall read about jungle control.
You shall read about dragon control.
You shall read about farming.

You shall read before commenting.
You shall not downvote because of your preconceptions on aspects x,y,z.
You shall not upvote because of your preconceptions on aspects x,y,z.
You shall not downvote because you do not like me.
You shall not upvote because you like me.
You shall ponder and make an educate decision.

You get the gist of things.

So I found myself entering ranked 3v3 play with some friends the other day, and we were debating picks and bans. We came up with this team and found it works pretty well. This is actually the first guide I find worth writing because it worked so well.
My ELO is not very high and I'm pretty new to this, so be gentle with me :P.

To more serious business, the idea is to have massive CC and deal pretty high burst damage and DPS with somewhat tanky champions. It's pretty obvious from the choices we made that we go for the stun lock option. Also, notice that any of the champions can initiate fights.
Before I get into explaining any choices in items, runes and whatsoever; I'll get over the roles each team member is going for:

Alistar - AP burst and support, also small area CC and some AP DPS.
Amumu - AP DoT and tanking, also CC hell (large area CC).
Renekton - AD Burst also providing some AD DPS.


Some acronyms that might or might not be used:
CD - Cooldown
AP - Ability Power
AD - Attack damage
CDR - Cooldown Reduction
MagPen - Magic Penetration
ArmPen - Armour Penetration
DPS - Damage per second
DoT - Damage over Time
CC - Crowd Control

Ok, let's get down to business!

Alistar:

Marks

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration - Magic penetration are by far the best marks for this type of Alistar build imo. Not much to explain here.

Seals

Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration - This is meant to get over some mana issues mainly mid/late game (the crystal gets you through early game).

Glyphs

Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction - You need CoolDown Reduction, these will let you reach the CoolDown Reduction cap at late game and also provide a better early game. If you feel that there is too much CDR with the items you're getting, switch them off with 9x Greater Glyph of Ability Power.

Quintessences

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - Helps your burst damage early game.

Amumu:

Yes, I find the runes somewhat weird for tanking, still they work! This is the explanation I was given:

Marks

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration - Magic penetration to help with some burst damage in fight initiation.

Seals

Greater Seal of Vitality - This is meant to help with early game harassing resistance.

Glyphs and Quintessences

Greater Glyph of Ability Power and Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - These are your only source of Ability Power, they help a bit with the damage output.

In the player's words - Amumu doesn't need tanking runes for good tanking, he does need runes for better burst and for early game harassing. Taking this into consideration these are the best choices, at least for me.

Renekton:

Marks and Quintessences

Greater Mark of Desolation and Greater Quintessence of Desolation - Armour penetration is essential for the burst damage Renekton is intended to provide.

Seals

Greater Seal of Evasion - These help a lot against those AD champions.

Glyphs

Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction - Renekton is very CoolDown dependant, these provide better early game and also let you reach the CoolDown reduction cap at late game.


This is pretty much it about the runes, overall they're intended to work around some of the champions weaknesses and help with the burst damage.

And more explaining, yey!

Alistar:

I go 9/0/21 with Alistar, this setup (going into the Utility Tree) helps quite a lot with mana issues and also lets you use your summoner spells much more often. Flash is very helpful with Alistar and will help you gank and initiate much better.
I don't take Utility Master because Renekton is left in charge of the jungle (further details ahead). Also, I think Expanded Mind is fixed, hence the 4 points but 2 of these can be shifted to Awereness if you prefer. Finally, Perseverence can be switched out by Good Hands .
The Magic Penetration from the Offence Tree is a must (same argument as with the runes) so just go down taking the ability power on the first tier and the CoolDown Reduction on the second.
You get 9% CoolDown Reduction from masteries so you can delay Frozen Heart.

Amumu:

Amumu is going with a pretty standard defensive tree, 9/21/0. The Magic Penetration from offence is very useful so just take Archaic Knowledge going down taking Archmage's Savy and Sorcery, just like Alistar.
The 21 points on the Defence Tree are self explanatory ( Ardor actually helps with the passive).

Renekton:

Renekton can work with every setup from 21/9/0 to 9/21/0 or even 0/9/21. I just find this setup to help a lot with farming, harassing and bursting.
On the defence tree go down until you get the 4 points on Evasion (same argument as with the runes), if you want get Nimbleness but this point can go into the offence tree.
On the offence tree get the CoolDown Reduction which Renekton benefits a lot from, also go for Armour Penetration. If you want you can max out Alacrity instead of Lethality or Brute Force , if you took the point from the defence tree you can max out all 3.

Why Flash:

Flash is one of the best summoner spells if not the best, it can be used for:
- Positioning: This includes initiation and ganking.
- Running: Flash over walls or just flash back.
- Chasing: Get that last bit of health down.

WOW 3 things, not much you think? Well they're probably some of the most important things in game, mainly positioning and running.

On the 3v3 map with all the walls, Flash provides probably the best way to gank and escape. In this map this spell really shines. Take it on all champions.

Alistar:

Ghost: This spell provides Alistar with the speed he needs to chase and Headbutt enemies back or lay down that Pulverize when Flash is on CoolDown. I find it quite helpful in this champion.

Amumu:

Ignite: Makes Amumu somewhat more scary and also provides another way ( Bandage Toss might fail) to mark the target to take down. The halved healing is also very good against AD champions with high life steal, or support champions with good heals. Because of this, Ignite is also a support spell.

Renekton:

Exhaust: Get it down on that AD carry and pummel him to the ground! Also for those annoying runners, get there->lay down your combo->exhaust->lay down another combo->stun... you get the picture. It's a very good spell on Renekton.

Let's get into items!

Alistar:

Sapphire Crystal - Start off with this and 2x Health Potion to help with the mana problem and to heal off the harassing.
Sheen - This is one of the most important items for Alistar, your burst will be quite something after this, once you have high AP you will upgrade it into a Lich Bane.
Sorcerer's Shoes - Some magic penetration is very nice on Alistar.
Rabaddon's Deathcap - This next item is going to cost you, but it will make your enemies fear you. Try to get Needlessly Large Rod first, it will vastly improve your farming capability.
Lich Bane - Alistar will be bursting up close to his enemies, a Lich Bane will make you hit that much harder, you will be unbelievably fearsome after this but bear in mind your mainly a caster. The speed buff is also very helpful.

After this get defensive. I usually go [Frozen Heart] for the CoolDown Reduction goodness and [Banshee's Veil] for the amazing passive.
Don't be an a**hole leave space for wards!
Get elixirs when team fights are brewing often. Mainly Elixir of Brilliance, but don't forget it wears off!
Buy oracle if you think the other team is putting up a lot of wards.

Amumu:

Doran's Shield - Starting with this item will help with all the harassing early game and boost up that defence.
Frozen Heart - This will help you get the mana problem solved and also help with the CoolDown on Bandage Toss, go with Glacial Shroud only if the other team is mainly AP champions.
Force of Nature - Boosts your Health Regeneration and raises your Magic Resistence. Also the movement speed buff is quite nice.
Warmog's Armor - Makes your Force of Nature heal that much more and also makes you quite difficult to take down, you will be regenerating at about 15 Health per Second.
Sunfire Aegis - The passive synergizes very well with Despair, also quite a nice health and armour boost.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity - For that CoolDown Reduction goodness.

Again, leave space for wards.
Amumu should be getting the least farm so building him might be a little hard, if your having money problems buy a Philosopher's Stone. If your having mana problems with Despair buy a Faerie Charm.

Renekton:

Doran's Blade - Start off with this item to help you with health regeneration and to boost your Attack Damage.
Youmuu's Ghostblade - Rushing this will greatly improve your damage output and allow you to harass more frequently. The active on this is amazing and the CoolDown reduction make this item perfect for Renekton.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity - Getting That CoolDown Reduction goodness.
Sunfire Aegis - Synergizes very well with your ultimate and also provides a good health and armour boost.
Banshee's Veil - Very nice passive, a shame the mana is wasted, if you don't like this build a force of nature.
Guardian Angel - The cherry on top of the cake.

Leave space for warding.
Don't forget the elixirs are there to buy.

General Notes:

If you make only one person take care of warding, mainly near the endgame, make it Amumu and take a Void Staff for Alistar and a Bloodthirster for Renekton. Void Staff is a must is your fighting tanky enemies.
If the other team is mainly AD or AP consider other defensive items, but bear in mind these were chosen also due to their passives.
Try to run an Elixir of Brilliance on Alistar as often as you can, mainly for the added CDR.

Alistar:

I tend to go Unbreakable Will> Pulverize= Headbutt> Triumphant Roar, getting a point on Triumphant Roar around Level 4 when the potions tend to have been used.
If you feel you are getting over harassed feel free to spend some points on Triumphant Roar.
This distribution allows for a good burst and good harassing with Headbutt, but neglects healing.

Amumu:

For this guy max Despair and Tantrum but be sure to put at least a point in Bandage Toss for initiation and for the stun. Put 2 points on Bandage Toss for a better burst and if you find you're landing them well. I'd say go something like this:
Curse of the Sad Mummy> Despair= Tantrum> Bandage Toss
However if the other team has a lot of AD don't forget Tantrum's passive.

Renekton:

Get a point in either Cull the Meek or Ruthless Predator in the beginning and a point in Slice and Dice early. For the rest of the game just distribute the points equally between Cull the Meek and Ruthless Predator putting a point in your ultimate whenever you can.
Pretty much something like this:
Dominus> Cull the Meek= Ruthless Predator> Slice and Dice
This way you can maximize your harassing capability and deliver a good burst on teamfights.

Don't forget Slice and Dice can be used to go through walls.

Your going ranked you don't know who to ban.

Champions I tend to ban on 3v3 Ranked play:

1- Mordekaiser: Why? In 5v5 this guy is usually not a major problem, he can get a turret down if he gets a ghost, or turn the tide of a battle but still it's just one turret, right?
Well in 3v3 you got 5 turrets, just one turret is ~20% of the game done. Besides a 4v2 is pretty different from a 6v4, even though with these champions the ghost is not a high damage dealer (because the damage output is due to skills and not auto attacks).

2- Tryndamere: He is destructive! Yeah he's got a slow start but he gets lucky and it's a done game. I just don't rely on chance... BAN! :P If you feel confident you can counter him feel free not to ban him.

3- Warwick: This guy has got massive jungle control. And the time he can spend in lane and in the jungle make him a very powerful 3v3 opponent.

4- Blitzcrank: This guy is a pain in the rear in 3v3. So many ganking spots, and the ultimate can pretty much kill off your game play.

5- Fiddlesticks: You don't want to be silenced when you rely so much on your skills.

6- Rumble: Small alleys = Rumble ultimate win. The map is very tight if you get caught on a team fight in certain locations rumble will kick your a**.


OMG! Someone got banned.

Champions that might be used to replace these guys:

Alistar:

1- Karma: Why? Karma can support and at the same time do some insane damage, also, she's got some CC. But requires a somewhat different playstyle.
2- Gragas: Why? Gragas can burst like hell and dismantle the other team formation pretty easily. A shame he can't support, but he also has some CC.

Amumu:

1- Cho'Gath: Good CC and a pretty awesome ultimate that goes well with the damage burst type of play.
2- Maokai: Nice CC and nice burst. His ultimate is pretty good for teamfights as well.

Renekton:

1- Xin Zhao: Nice CC, nice burst and can farm almost as well as Renekton.
2- Olaf: Same arguments.

Alistar and Amumu should take the bottom lane and Renekton should take the top lane. This is mainly because Amumu's passive synergizes well with Alistar's type of damage. Also, Renekton and Alistar are both very good farmers and should not be on the same lane.

In the bottom lane Alistar should get most of the farm and jungle the bottom creeps when possible. Amumu should not steal the farm from Alistar mainly at low levels.

In the top lane Renekton should farm the lane creeps and jungle the top creeps whenever he can. This way he will not interfere with the bottom farming. Renekton is a very good farmer and he should have no trouble with the top jungle creeps.

Why jungle and lane?

I feel that the jungle in 3v3 is too small to have a dedicated jungler. This way jungle control is assured and the lane's will also be well farmed.

ALWAYS place wards. This is true for any game 5v5 or 3v3.

Where to put wards

In 3v3 there are 2 main places for wards, these are the red buff and the dragon. Try to keep these warded, mainly the red buff.
These warding spots help you prevent ganks and also control the jungle.

When to put wards

NEVER go put wards alone if your not sure you can get out.
NEVER go put wards when they're all missing.
If you must go put a ward when they're still missing do it with your team and ready for a fight.

Alistar:

Gank a lot! If the top laner is giving Renekton a tough job, pull an over wall flash and gank him. Make him scared. If they buy wards to avoid this go destroy them. Always be aware of the enemies movement, a lot of gank strategies require a champion in a sensitive position, if you find him you can destroy him and the gank. Warding helps. Alistar should be a roamer if it is required, in this map this does not interfere with farming.

Amumu:

Know when to initiate, a well landed bandage toss is the key to victory. Sacrifice for your teammates if needed. Mark the target to take down.

Renekton:

Use Slice and Dice to go through some walls. Keep the jungle clean.

Team Work:

Amumu should initiate fights and get the other team stuck. After this Alistar should keep them stun locked and Renekton should move in to take down the main target. Notice however that anyone of these champions can initiate, however Amumu is the best choice.

Missing:

Don't go idling about if someone is missing and probably farming the jungle like a boss! This is bad! Keep your jungle under constant check, both bottom and top.

In 3v3 play pay special attention to the dragon. And control it, this means:
1-WARD IT!
2-KILL IT!
3-STEAL IT!
4-FIGHT OVER IT!

You get the idea. The dragon respawns every 5 minutes, try to keep this controlled.

1- Karma's, Xin Zhao's and Cho'Gath's builds

04/07/2011 - Guide v1.0 is online
08/07/2011 - Switched out Ionian Boots of Lucidity for Sorcerer's Shoes on Alistar.