Pros and Cons

+ Amazing peel / cc + Good initiate + Has natural tankiness + Sustain in lane + Versatile builds

- Extremely mana hungry/dependent - Poor base movement speed - Low damage - Melee - Weak heal + no steroids for ally

Runes

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Nine of these will give Alistar resilience during the laning phase. Since Alistar is melee and has no ranged poke, he his prone to taking damage from harass. Since each Greater Seal of Health gives 8 health, he will get 72 health with all 9. That is 6 points of Veteran's Scars . If the enemy team has a ton of AD, trade these out for 9 Greater Seal of Armors. If their bot lane does minimal damage early (ex: Vayne Janna), consider trading these out for Greater Seal of Scaling Healths.

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9 of these gives a nice early game boost of 8 armor. It doesn't seem like a lot but take what you can get. It will protect you against the enemy bot lane's harass. The only other option for marks to use on support Alistar would be 9 Greater Mark of Magic Resists which will give 7 magic resist. Only get those if they have a heavy magic damage bot lane (ex: Corki Morgana).

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This is yet another small boost to help you survive early game without taking to much of a beating from the opposing laners. 9 of these will give you 12 magic resist. If the enemy team has little magic damage, consider getting 6 Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reductions and 3 Greater Glyph of Magic Resists. You can also choose to get 9 Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resists if they have little magic damage early game. If you have lots of trouble conserving mana as Alistar or you know the lane is going to be difficult and is going to require lots of Triumphant Roars, grab some Greater Glyph of Mana Regenerations.

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These are the standard quintessences of most supports. Giving 78 health, these will also greatly improve your health pool early game. Combined with 9 Greater Seal of Healths and masteries, you will have 208 bonus health at lvl 1. Having 752 health at lvl 1 is insane. It will be extremely difficult to kill you. Alternative quintessences would be Greater Quintessence of Movement Speeds.

Masteries

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To start off, we dive into the Defensive tree putting 21 points in it. Put the first 2 points in Recovery for a small amount of sustain in lane. Then put the next 2 points into Block to finish the first tier, give a mini Doran's Shield passive, and grant access to Unyielding which we put our next point in since it decreases all damage done to you by champions by a flat amount. After that, take all 3 points in Veteran's Scars for 36 health which is a full auto attack (from most supports) extra. Then put the 9th point into Juggernaut for a 3% increase to your maximum health. Following that, get all 3 points from Hardiness and take 1 from Resistance to give a minuscule boost to Alistar's armor and magic resist and to finish the third tier. To start off the fourth tier, put 1 point into Reinforced Armor for better resilience against ADCs or other heavy crit champs (ex: Tryndamere, Pantheon, Yasuo). Next, put 3 points in Perseverence for greatly increased sustain. After that, put 3 points into Legendary Guardian for more tankiness during teamfights and squirmishes. Put the final point in the defensive tree into Tenacious to reduce the effect of crowd control on Alistar. To finish off, we invest 9 points into the Utility tree. Start off with 3 points in Fleet of Foot for 1.5% increase to Alistar's movement speed. Then put 1 point into Meditation to slightly improve your mana regen during laning phase and to have access to the second tier. To start off the second tier, put 3 points into Summoner's Insight for the amazing 10% Summoner Spell CDR that isn't available anywhere else. Finally, put the last 2 points into Alchemist and Culinary Master for to further increase sustain.

Summoner Spells

Flash: This is a must have on Alistar. Absolutely mandatory. Again, it can NOT be skipped. This broken spell allows Alistar to do so many things that he might not be able to do if he didn't have it. With this he can escape to safety, save a teammate by getting in the way of something, go over walls, juke, kill secure, and most importantly, initiate easily with the Flash Headbutt Pulverize combo.

Exhaust: Exhaust is pretty good on all supports. Its the standard non- Flash Summoner Spell on supports. You should pretty much always get it if they have a Zed or a Fiora or really any assassin or heavy damage champion. It works wonders vs any Attack Speed or Burst heavy champs. Exhaust unlike Ignite doesn't fall off in the slightest.

Ignite: This Summoner Spell is very good early game. It counters any type of healing by reducing the amount healed by half. This is especially great if you're against a Soraka in lane as it deals True Damage and makes her heals very weak. MAKE SURE you take this if no one on your team has grabbed it(unlikely) or they have a heavy healer such as Dr. Mundo or Swain. If your ADC has grabbed Ignite, don't take it.

Other Options

Heal: Really, the only time you should be getting this Summoner Spell is if your ADC doesn't have it. Then its recommended that you do take it. Make sure that you heal the person that needs it the most. That doesn't necessarily mean the ally with the lowest health. Remember that Heal also gives movement speed when activated so you can use it to escape ganks even before taking damage. Heal is also a rather poor choice vs Tristana or Miss Fortune as Explosive Shot and Impure Shots reduce the healing effect. Same goes for enemies with Morellonomicon, Executioner's Calling, Ignite or any other spell that applies Grievous Wounds.

No other Summoner Spells are recommended...

Abilities

Trample
// Each time Alistar casts a spell he will be able to move through units and will deal 7 + (1 x level) + (+10% of ability power) magic damage per second to nearby enemy units and structures for 3 seconds. It deals double damage to minions.

// This passive is absolutely useless for support Alistar. It provides a very small amount of damage that is barely noticeable. The only use it has for support Alistar is that it also damages structures. Other than that, its terrible. Note: If you cast a spell by a tower and an enemy champion gets too close, Alistar will take tower aggro due to Trample damaging them.
Pulverize
// Alistar smashes the ground where he is standing, dealing 60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+50% of ability power) magic damage to all enemies in the area and tossing them into the air, knocking them up for 1 second and stunning them upon landing for 0.5 seconds.

// This is an amazing spell for Alistar it gives a total of 1.5 seconds of CC. This is also the 2nd half of his BnB combo ( Headbutt Pulverize). Pulverize can also be used to walk behind the enemy while they are CC'd and Headbutt them into a tower or your team. Max this first in most situations to reduce the cooldown and increase the damage..

Headbutt
// Alistar dashes to an enemy, taking its position and rams them, dealing 55 / 110 / 165 / 220 / 275 (+70% of ability power) magic damage and knocking them back a distance of 650.

// This is another amazing skill. It can be used to peel, escape (situational), knock a enemy into a certain direction, push an enemy through a wall, and more! Its also the first part of his BnB combo ( Headbutt Pulverize). Max this second in most situations. Max this first if they have someone who needs to be knocked away constantly (ex: Riven).
Triumphant Roar
// Instantly restore 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+20% of ability power) health to himself and half of that value to surrounding allied units. Cooldown ticks down by 2 seconds each time a nearby enemy unit dies.

// This is a rather poor heal. It doesn't heal much to Alistar or his allies, it has short range, his movement is stopped while using it, and it costs a lot of mana. It will drain your mana a lot in lane if used constantly which is the main reason behind the Mana Potion for the Starting Items. Remember that the CD is reduced by 2 seconds for every nearby enemy unit that dies. This includes wards. Max this last in most situations. Max this first if your lane is getting smashed and you can't fight without getting destroyed. Note: If Triumphant Roar is timed correctly, you can heal an allied minion enough so that the enemy ADC's auto doesn't kill it but their minions or tower does making them lose gold.
Unbreakable Will
// On cast, Alistar removes all disables on himself. Alistar gains 60 / 75 / 90 attack damage and takes 50 / 60 / 70 % reduced physical and magic damage for 7 seconds.

// This spell should be called Unbreakable Wall since it makes you extremely tanky. The AD it gives you isn't exactly great on support Alistar but it at least gives you respectable damage. Make sure to time it so you can negate 1 CC spell used on you. In teamfights, you usually want to pop this after the Headbutt Pulverize combo. Put a point into this skill whenever you are able to.

Ability Sequence

Combos

Note: Doran's Blade stands for auto attack]] and Doran's Shield stands for them hitting the wall.

1. Headbutt Pulverize

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Alistar's BnB combo. Learn this combo immediately. If you don't learn to do it, don't play Alistar. Simple as that. Its crucial for initiation. Its kind of like a Malphite Unstoppable Force.

2. Flash Headbutt Pulverize

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Same as above just sneakier and better for longer ranged initiations.

3. Pulverize Flash

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You have to Flash where you want before Pulverize's animation is complete. Its much faster than Flash Pulverize which allows them to react.

4. Pulverize Walk behind/to side of enemy Headbutt

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With this you can push an enemy champion into your tower, or even scarier, your team. Note: Be careful on who you do this on. Doing it on someone like Galio can cause you to lose the game. Choose carefully.

5. Headbutt Doran's Shield Doran's Blade Pulverize Doran's Blade Doran's Blade

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This is the most damaging combo for obvious reasons. Trample is active the entire combo.

Item Build #1

talisman of ascension

This item is amazing on Alistar. He needs everything it offers. The CDR, health regen, mana regen, GP10, passive, and the active. Not building this severely hinders Alistar's ability to surprise initiate and chase. Do not skip out on getting this great item.

These are hands down the best boots for Alistar. They give him a huge amount of movement speed which he just craves. It also greatly increases Alistar's ability to engage and chase. Enchantment-wise, Boots of Mobility - Distortion is usually the one you want to purchase. It allows for more Flash Headbutt Pulverizes. The alternative would be Boots of Mobility - Alacrity.

Remember back in the beginning of the guide when I mentioned how Alistar is extremely mana hungry and extremely mana dependent? This solves his problems. It also makes him tankier from the 40 magic resist. However, the main reason behind purchasing this item is the broken active. It gives him a nice targeted heal and cleanse. Literally the only downside to this item is that the active has a travel time unlike Quicksilver Sash, Mercurial Scimitar, and Cleanse. Other than that small issue its a great item for him.

This is self explanatory. Honestly. If you don't know why, its because all supports should buy a sighstone. No exceptions. Ever. It extremely gold efficient due to the unlimited amount of wards it provides as well as the 400 health.

This is an... interesting item. It gives him lots of things he wants. A slow, mana, armor, and CDR. There are 2 big downsides to this item. Its pretty expensive and the passive isn't used to its full extent most of the time on Alistar due to him not having very short cooldowns. Get it if they have a AD heavy team.

A great support or tank item. It makes you beefy as well as providing an aura and shield for your team. Get this most of the time since it gives you lots of very nice stats. The magic resist aura is especially useful along with the AOE shield. The 400 health and 10% CDR is a very nice bonus as well. The only downside to this item is that its relatively expensive. The reason why I say its only relatively expensive is because all of the ingredients (except Rejuvenation Bead) to Locket of the Iron Solari are useful for Alistar.

zeke's herald

Only purchase this if your team is very AD heavy. It'd be considered AD heavy if 3 allied champs are AD focused and one of the others can use the AD (ex: Akali). The AD is subpar on Alistar and the lifesteal is useless on him as well but the 20% CDR and 250 health are very much enjoyed.

This is a great item on all tanks and offtanks. It gives a ton of health and a large amount of armor as well. The passive and active also make escaping Alistar's team and kiting him especially difficult. Great item. Highly recommended.

This is another great item on tanks and offtanks. It gives a ton of health and a pretty big amount of magic resist too. The passive is a lifesaver. Get this item if they have a heavy magic damage team or a fed magic damage champ that will melt you instantly if you don't get this item. Also get it if there are certain spells that you can't afford to get hit by (ex: Unstoppable Force). Another very nice item.

Item Build #2

talisman of ascension

This item is amazing on Alistar. He needs everything it offers. The CDR, health regen, mana regen, GP10, passive, and the active. Not building this severely hinders Alistar's ability to surprise initiate and chase. Do not skip out on getting this great item.

These are hands down the best boots for Alistar. They give him a huge amount of movement speed which he just craves. It also greatly increases Alistar's ability to engage and chase. Enchantment-wise, Boots of Mobility - Distortion is usually the one you want to purchase. It allows for more Flash Headbutt Pulverizes. The alternative would be Boots of Mobility - Alacrity.

Whaaaaaaat?! Youmuu's Ghostblade? Really? Yes really. I recently found it to be an incredible item on Alistar due to the great active. The AD and armor penetration aren't wasted on him, the crit is ok, but the CDR and active are wonderful on the great cow. Combined with the talisman of ascension active and Mobility Boots, you will be shockingly quick. The enemy team won't expect you running so fast and then Headbutt Pulverize'ing them. Get this great item if you and your lane partner are snowballing so you can continue doing so with the bonus movement speed and damage. I highly recommend this item. However, don't get it if behind.

Remember back in the beginning of the guide when I mentioned how Alistar is extremely mana hungry and extremely mana dependent? This solves his problems. It also makes him tankier from the 40 magic resist. However, the main reason behind purchasing this item is the broken active. It gives him a nice targeted heal and cleanse. Literally the only downside to this item is that the active has a travel time unlike Quicksilver Sash, Mercurial Scimitar, and Cleanse. Other than that small issue its a great item for him.

This is self explanatory. Honestly. If you don't know why, its because all supports should buy a sighstone. No exceptions. Ever. It extremely gold efficient due to the unlimited amount of wards it provides as well as the 400 health.

This is an... interesting item. It gives him lots of things he wants. A slow, mana, armor, and CDR. There are 2 big downsides to this item. Its pretty expensive and the passive isn't used to its full extent most of the time on Alistar due to him not having very short cooldowns. Get it if they have a AD heavy team.

This is a great item on all tanks and offtanks. It gives a ton of health and a large amount of armor as well. The passive and active also make escaping Alistar's team and kiting him especially difficult. Great item. Highly recommended.

This is another great item on tanks and offtanks. It gives a ton of health and a pretty big amount of magic resist too. The passive is a lifesaver. Get this item if they have a heavy magic damage team or a fed magic damage champ that will melt you instantly if you don't get this item. Also get it if there are certain spells that you can't afford to get hit by (ex: Unstoppable Force). Another very nice item.

Laning

Laning as Alistar is pretty easy. Not much to it. Just stay in the bushes (or behind minions), heal when needed, initiate when needed, peel when needed, and ward when needed. Laning probably isn't going to have much excitement. But that is what mid game and late game are for. Also note that during the laning phase you should keep tribush near dragon warded with a Vision Ward if on the blue side or the tribush near the red outer tower if on red side at all times.

Good Lane Partners

Since Vayne has a rather poor laning phase, Alistar can keep her alive through peel and sustain and possibly snowball her due to his CC. Alistar's Headbutt and Vayne's Condemn also synergize exceptionally well since they can chain CC if she gets a wall stun or they can push an enemy extremely far in one direction by chaining the two skills.


The reason why these two synergize well is because of Sivir's ultimate On The Hunt being amazing with Alistar. Well, that is definitely the main reason. The other reasons include Alistar being able to heal her since she is prone to harass due to her 500 range and that Alistar's Pulverize allows for an easy full damage Boomerang Blade from Sivir.


These two synergize since Alistar's CC can keep an enemy immobilized long enough for Miss Fortune to get off sufficient damage from Make it Rain and Bullet Time. The other reason is since Miss Fortune has no escape, Alistar can peel for her when she needs it without having to use a Summoner Spell.

Conclusion

I'd like to say a big thank you to jhoijhoi for her amazing Making a Guide Guide and to GrandmistressD for their great Guide to formatting. Thanks for reading through my support Alistar guide! I'd appreciate comments, feedback, and votes! Seeya!