10/11/2013 - Hello you guys! I'm still here! My current thoughts on Alistar: Season 3 hates him. His tankiness relies mostly on resistances, which are poo with the penetration changes. He's still viable, just situational. He's a niche pick, and mostly not very good.

Hello and welcome to my guide on Nerfistar...I mean Alistar! Alistar is the only support that can brag about being both a healer and aggressive support. Since I have been playing, which is only about a year, Alistar was to me the uncontested best support. He is the support to shut down the infamous Blitzcrank.

Unfortunately after several nerfs he can no longer do as he pleases in almost every match up. I play Alistar now as a support tank with masteries helping him make up for his nerfed movement speed. Alistar is still top tier and is at the momement a popular ban banned.

Alistar really fits my play style. Typically when I'm playing support I want to do more than just stand in the bush (lol). I want to constantly intimidate, harass, and threaten the enemy. Alistar was the champion that could do that for me, and that is why he is my favorite champion.

Good -Both Agressive and Passive Support -Scales even without farm (like all supports) -Naturally Tanky -One of the best Crowd Controls in the game -Direct counter to the highly banned Blitzcrank. -Fun to play (a feat some supports struggle with) -Excellent peeler and initiator -Good roamer -Can handle good and bad situations in lane

Bad -Nerfed -Difficult to play -Often banned -Playing Alistar is often forced by teammates (which is fine with me) -Can be countered -Not great with all AD Carries -Not the best warder -High mana usage -Low win rate

Comparison to Previous Season

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In season 2 Alistar was the king of supports for a little while. Not only that he has a potent ganker as a jungler. Pros would always pick him up, and was victim to bans when people felt the wrath of Alistar. Nerfs, however, chewed up and spitted the cow out to where he has just too nerfed. By the end of season 2, he had fallen out of favor.

In season 3, Alistar improved (who didn't)? The Nimble mastery gives Alistar more movement speed, and as good as back to where he was before the nerf. Therefore, the cow benefited greatly.

Let's Talk Win Rate

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As of 12/22/2012 it's 42.96% (yikes)! I'm thinking it is because of people who are forced to play him by there teammates. Alistar still has one of the highest ban rates, making people believed that he is overpowered and must always be on a team if he doesn't get banned, much like Amumu or Shen.

Thresh Patch

I'm still around and yes the guide will be updated for the new patch, I don't think a whole lot is gonna change with the items builds and what not. I think Alistar is getting some sort of buff, don't quote me though. I am totally stoked for Thresh and will instabuy him, possibly make a guide for him as well.

As the mightiest warrior to ever emerge from the Minotaur tribes of the Great Barrier, Alistar defended his tribe from Valoran's many dangers; that is, until the coming of the Noxian army. Alistar was lured from his village by the machinations of Keiran Darkwill, General Boram Darkwill's youngest son and commander of the Noxian expeditionary force. When Alistar returned, he found his village burning and his family slain. Bellowing with rage, he charged an entire regiment of Noxus' elite, slaughtering them by the hundreds. Only the intervention of some of Noxus' most skilled summoners checked Alistar's rage. Brought in chains to Noxus, Alistar spent the intervening years as a gladiator in the Fleshing, pitted in endless battle for the entertainment of Noxus' wealthy leaders.

Alistar's once noble soul slowly became twisted, and he would have been driven to insanity if not for Ayelia, a young servant girl who befriended him and eventually arranged for his escape. Suddenly free, Alistar joined the newly formed League of Legends to fight as a champion, hoping to one day exact his final vengeance upon Noxus and find the girl who had renewed his hope. Initially unwilling to cater to his celebrity status as a champion, Alistar has since discovered that there is power in fame, and he has become a vocal advocate for those whom the Noxian government treads upon. He also calls to light things that the Noxian military would prefer remain hidden -- something that has made him very unpopular with Noxus' nobles. His charitable work has earned him several philanthropic awards, which serve as an interesting contrast to the rage and destruction he brings to the League of Legends.

If you intend to grab the bull by the horns as a summoner, Alistar might have something to say about that.

Alistar was the mightiest of all supports in League of Legends. WAS the mightiest of supports. He was nerfed that crippled him a little bit...

v1.0.0.142 - 2012-07-06

Trample
Damage reduced to 7-24 from 10-27
Triumphant Roar
Mana cost increased at earlier ranked to 40/50/60/70/80 from 28/41/54/67/80

This was a pretty noticeable nerf to Jungle Alistar, but he could still gank effictively. The support version was still viable as ever. Until...

v1.0.0.146 - 2012-08-29

General
Base Movement Speed reduced to 300 from 305
Headbutt
Cast range reduced to 600 from 650

Big nerf. So much that it dethroned him as the king of supports. Now he is too sluggish to be able to pull of his cc combo. According to Lolking.com, his winrate of 11/25/2012 is 45.48%. That's where Nerfgot ([Urgot]), Master Yi, and Karma hang around at. Not sure how viable the site actually is, but it's downright depressing to see my most played, favorite champ become so crippled. We will have to wait and see what season 3 offers for the Unlucky Minotaur.

Preseason Balance Update 2

Alistar
Base movement speed increased to 330 from 325
Headbutt
Range increased to 650 from 600

Alistar just got unnerfed. This is actually a huge buff because I don't know how many times I was barely out of headbutt range, plus the W+Q combo will be a bit easier to pull off. More movement speed is nice, but I think the monster is back when they gave back his headbutt. Makes me go...

Summoner's Insight -Good to have less of a cool down on Flash
Wanderer -A core mastery for Alistar, but not a lot of other supports. Movement speed is too good not to have.
Meditation -Use the extra points to help sustain your early game, where mana is a issue.
Artificer -A good mastery to have when you use tons of active items.
Greed -A core mastery for all supports. Gold over time is OP.
Biscuiteer -A point to give something tangible! The biscuit works at the same time as a health potion or flask, so that's the best time to use it! You can get some serious clutch with biscuit + potion.
Explorer -The perfect item for "checking" or "I just need to keep this clear for 5 seconds" or "if i can get Sona out of that bush for just a second". Don't use it for warding the river or tri-bush.
Awareness -A great mastery but unfortunately can't get all 4 points in because there are just better ones. It's nice to level fast.
Pickpocket -This mastery is so very worth it on ranged supports, still debating if it is on melee supports. Any extra gold is nice.
Intelligence -Ah CDR, a favorite for Alistar.
Nimble -The reason for dumping all your points in the utility tree. This lone mastery makes Alistar favored again.

Durability -Time to get some tankiness! This mastery gives over 100 health at level 18 and is a level 1 mastery. Neat!
Hardiness -We favor armor over magic resistant because your not going against AP at the beginning, are you?
Resistance -Only 1 point, but it's still nice.
Veteran's Scars -The reason you dip into the defense tree. 30 free health right off the bat is very much appreciated.

There is alot of focus on Movement Speed and CDR. I'm not 100% so far about the new masteries but these certainly work.

I see alot of builds on alot of supports not taking advantage of Nimble . Alistar has to have it. I put the rest into defense because your gonna be taking hits.

With support's you have a couple of options.


Greater Mark of Armor-The extra armor helps out a ton while laning. For marks you could choose between armor and magic pen. Usually I opt for armor, even though the marks are made for offense. The only time I use Insight runes is when I see we have alot of AP on our team, I also used Magic Pen runes when i didn't have the armor runes yet.

Greater Seal of Armor-Again with the extra armor. For seals you can choose between armor or gold. I almost always go for armor. I find that you are just too squishy without armor, even with Alistar. Gold Seals are "very" optional.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist-For blues I take Shielding. Very standard and highly recommended for almost any champ. You can also use CDR runes as well.

Greater Quintessence of Gold-For Quints you have a couple of options. In season 2 Gold Quints where my choice picks, that might change in this season. Movement Quints are also excellent choices. Ability power quints can be used if you plan on building for an AP team.

Flash-Almost every champ makes use of this spell. Perhaps Alistar is one who can use it the best. It is absolutely deadly early game to quickly get into position early game.

Exhaust-An excellent spell to support with. Plus who don't take the kill.

Alternatives

Heal-I grab it when a support doesn't have a built in heal, and I still grab it when Shurelya's wouldn't be used to dive into a fight. However Alistar can effectively use Shurelya's, so Heal wouldn't be as viable.

Clarity-Good on Zilean maybe, but it's not worth a spell slot otherwise.

Ghost-It's better on champs who are naturally fast or have speed buffs built in. You don't, Flash is just better on Alistar.

Clairvoyance-With the introduction of better warding and nerf on oracle's, this spell would only be worthwile early game. Exhaust and Heal are always beneficial.

Teleport-Really nice spell to have on any team. If you addicted to it, it would be okay for you to get it. Just make sure to ask if it is okay.

Trample Each time Alistar casts a spell, he gains the ability to move through units and will deal damage to nearby enemy units and structures for about 3 seconds. Trample deals double damage to minions and monsters.

Magic Damage per second: 6 (+ 1 x level) (+10% AP)

While it certainly has its uses, this spell is more valuable when Alistar jungles. While supporting use it during a engagement to deal a good chunk of damage. If you are ever farming, say your carry is off somewhere or your stopping a pushed lane, use this to farm. As soon as those 3 seconds are done use another ability to keep it going. When your attacking a turret, also keep this on because it deals damage to them. This also removes unit collision, so there's that to keep in mind.

Pulverize Alistar smashes the ground where he is standing, dealing damage to all surrounding enemies and knocking them up for 1 second, additionally stunning them upon landing for 0.5 seconds.

Magic Damage: 60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+50% AP)

A knockup. One spell giving you essentially a 1.5 second stun at level one is OP.You can use this before or after a Headbutt, either way the opponent is either gonna die, take serious damage, or use a summoner spell to escape. Use this in a middle of a teamfight to instantly give your team a advantage. Don't forgot this spell is how your going to deal most of your damage.

Headbutt Alistar dashes to an enemy's position and rams them, dealing damage and knocking them back a set distance over 1 second, also briefly immobilizing them.

Magic Damage: 55 / 110 / 165 / 220 / 275 (+70% AP)
Knockback Distance: 650

A knockback. This is a great tool to kill with, but it's also why Alistar is potentially one of the best tanks. He can get someone off one of his squishies with ease.

Triumphant Roar Alistar instantly restores health to himself, healing nearby friendly units for half of that amount. The cooldown of this ability is reduced by 2 seconds each time a nearby enemy unit dies.

Self Heal: 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+20% AP)
Friendly Unit Heal: 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90 (+10% AP)

Seems out of place on the cow at first but it's what separates him from other utility tanks. It's a nice AOE heal that can actually heal alot when your around your whole team.

Unbreakable Will Alistar instantly gains bonus attack damage and takes reduced physical and magic damage for 7 seconds. If he is under crowd control effects at the time of casting, they are also removed.

Bonus AD: 60 / 75 / 90
Damage Reduction: 50% / 60% / 70%

Your ult. Not very supporty, but always you to transition into a tank when you become focused. If you get locked in a bunch of cc you can use this + Shurelya's to easily escape. Don't forgot to use this during a engagement as soon as you finish your combo.

The order in which to level each skill

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Typically I DO NOT use the level order above, but that is the ideal. The ideal being that your team is stomping and you destroyed the enemy tower early. If you find that your being constantly pushed back into your tower, or that you guys are behind a few kills, definitely consider leveling E first.

In lane I level Q and W over E as long as we are pub stomping. Why? Here is the reason why I don't spend I don't level E early.

*Mana increase can keep you oom, therefore you can't do your job.
*Your carry (and yourself) will began to feel too comfortable in lane and feel it's okay to be harassed because you can just use your E, right?
*You don't do any damage at all when you need to.
*Level 1 is already good enough.

I level Q and W alternating in lane quite a bit. When we have the disadvantage and are hugging our tower, or the lanes staying in the middle, I level q. When we have pushed to there tower, and are in pinning range, I level W.

However I do max E first when I'm getting swamped in lane. I also max it as soon as laning phase is over. So I level aggressive skills when we're winning lane, and level passive skill when we are losing.

I do level E as soon as laning is finished and Q is maxed, you start to heal your whole team quite a bit at higher levels, and mana isn't as big of a problem.

I tend to level my heal over my q or w about 50% of the time, just in case you guys wanted to know.

Synergies

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Any champ with a blink can take full advantage of Alistar's usefulness.

Vayne add's extra cc and has a blink. This compliment Alistar quite a bit.

Tristana is the same thing as vayne, except her cc is an ultimate. I don't find her quite as good either, although she certainly works well.

Graves can hustle to Alistar to help deal some quick damage, no hard cc though.

Ezreal works the same way as Graves. Ezreal is pretty much good with all supports.

Your Mentality Throughout the Game

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Early Game
-You're on even footing with everyone else
-Your job is to allow your carry to farm and survive while doing it
-Additional it is your job to ward the lane
-Find openings for a kill for your carry
-Pressure against the other team going for dragon

Mid Game
-You're job is to keep your AD Carry alive at all cost
-Pressure the dragon
-Keep dragon and baron warded
-Assist whenever possible
- Pulverize the entire other team!

Late Game
-With your Unbreakable Will your like a fed tank. Try to get the team to attack you in team fights
-Still peel for your carry, who is the MVP right now.
-Contest for baron
-Keep lanes from being pushed, but not during a "standoff".
-Ward ward ward

Tips

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-The Pin. See that wall sticking out near eachother's turrets at bottom lane? Headbutt the enemy ADC into it for a free stun. Pulverize for further cc and deal tons of damage Triforce.

-Alistar is an excellent farm denier, a technique I don't see a whole lot of supports using. When you see a creep with low health on your team, start walking to the enemy ADC to give him a choice, farm the creep and get killed, or shoot the bull and miss out on gold. Alistar is tanky enough to handle it, and with enough mana regen. you can do it alot.

-Roam. When you get Mobility Boots it's time to help your mid out some. When you've fed your carry 4 kills and the enemies are camping under there turret, it's time for second jungler.

-Your ult. When you plan on going all in use this bad boy after you've landed your combo. Use it also to get out of a cc trap.

-The cc combo. An enemy is running? No worries! Use the w to quickly catchup and press q a moment later to snipe a pulverize.

-Peel like the worlds best chef. That's what supports do, right? What is peeling? It's protecting your carry from gettin cc'd or damaged. Udyr, Nautilus, Taric and yourself are excellent at it.

-Get in the way of the enemy! If Blitz is trying to grab your carry, or Singed is wanting to fling the carry, make them get you! When they do, take advantage of your position to cc whoever is too close to your team!

-Get behind the enemy team during a face off. What I meant by face off is when it's like ARAM during a regular match. When they see that your gone after a little bit (a little bit is all you should take to position yourself). They typically will towerdive just as you arrive behind the whole enemy team. Now they have a few options.

*Ignore you, and take the chance of being cc'd to hell.
*Start all chasing after you. You should be faster than all of them to escape. If they do catch you, that means they are focusing a tank. What happens when tanks are focused? GG
*Runaway. Typically this is their best option, especially if there are a mobile team. It's still a small victory, even if they escape.

-Using a vision wards on either Dragon (early and mid game) or Baron (mid and late game) is a vital. Make sure to have vision at these places at all time, and denying vision is just as important. Whoever has the best control of the map will almost always win the game.

Find a duo queue AD Carry

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It would be an great investment. I was lucky and got a duo queue partner in the form of my older brother (not only that but my younger brother is the jungler)! If you find someone you can get along with you will almost always win your lane. Can't promise you will almost always win your game though.

I am not as familiar with Alistar than say season 2, but I feel I have a good grasp on what items work. I've been taking advantage of Kage's since the removal of Heart of Gold. I've also latched onto some old classic's like Zeke's and Aegis (well Runic now).

Standard

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I believe this is what will always be viable and what you should get most of the time first.

Standard Path-I decided to completely drop Zeke's, as Alistar doesn't really like it too much and can do better with other items. This setup is pretty reliable and standard

You are against High AD - So if the other team is life what I explained at "+3 AD champs on team" than this would be a good choice, and even better if your team is behind.

You are against high AP - Probably not very common for 3 opponents to go AP, could still be viable against 2 highly fed AP champs.

Good items for Alistar

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Mobility Boots Speed is what Alistar wants the most, with these boots he can get.

Shurelya's Battlesong Not an item I get on most supports, I usually like to opt for Eleisa's with Heal because I like having 7 items. With Alistar, speed is his best weapon so this item is highly recommended.

Zeke's Herald This item isn't as good anymore since they took away the attack speed. Alistar like's it for it CDR. I only grab it if we have a high AD Comp, and with Teemo, Singed and Diana being so popular it's not very often.

Runic Bulwark An item built from an already really good item. Definitely grab it if you can, excellent against Liandray's users.

Shard of True Ice At first I thought Wraith Collar was superior, than I played a game where I became unkillable because of this item. Plus it gives you your gold income and is cheaper. With Reverie and this item, no one can escape and no one can catch your team.

Banner of Command An item to get ONLY at perfect times. If your against heavy AD PLUS if both teams are at sort of a stalemate, even than it's risky. Probably the best time to use it is with a 5 man premade who's goal is to push. You can use this item to split push and have your team push another lane. Either the promoted minions lane gets a tower or you end up with the other team having 4 players to contend with. Plus extra gold is nice.

Twin Shadow A good item on Singed for sure. I just think the other option is better, but his item is still just barely lagging behind. Use this item of your against heavy AP.

Mikael's Blessing An excellent item that Alistar really can't benefit from as much as other supports. This item is an item to peel for you. Alistar is one of the best peeler's so this item is as necessary. It's a good Magic Res item for sure, and should always be considered.

Frozen Heart An excellent item for Alistar. However Runic Bulwark is just so darn good. Grab this item if someone already grabbed Runic or your against heavy AD.

Locket of the Iron Solari This item is a direct counter to AOE team comps. I always thought this item was underrated in S2. Now that it's season 3, this item is a better choice than Randuins in my opinion. Mostly because it is quite a bit cheaper.

Other Options

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I would consider these if you are fed, a teammate already has an item, or some other special circumstance (like against a non-meta team).


Spirit Visage A great item on Alistar, only a bit selfish. You can get it if your teammates took alot of you magic res. items.

Abyssal Mask A item you could get if your team was high on AP, and you brought Insight runes.

Randuin's Omen I dunno, with the Heart of Gold gone I haven't picked up this item, and I haven't seen anyone else do it either. I placed them here just because they used to be staple items.

Iceborn Gauntlets Probably the best offensive item on Alistar, and it's not too selfish. You can grab these if your mopping the other team.

Eleisa's Miracle I get this alot on other supports when I run Heal. Plus it's nice to have it be consumed. However Shurelya Reverie is such a good item on Alistar that I put it one as a core build. Grab this if you don't want Exhaust or just can't live without Heal.

Ohmwrecker With philostone being able to build into this guy it's more of a viable option for supports. I really think Shurelya's is too good to drop though. It's a cheap item, builds from philo, has CDR, and an active that is game changing, especially for Alistar.

Aura Items and You

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A short little section about aura items, or specifically unique aura items. There is no since in have two Zeke's Herald, it's a waste money. Will of the Ancients and Frozen Heart also applies here. The reason is the auras don't stack on your teammates, only one the teammates who have the same items!Communicate with your team so you can maximize each other's potential and not get the same aura items.

The only exception I've seen is Runic Bulwark. Currently this item offers the highest magic resistance since the removal of beloved Force of Nature. Although the auras still don't stack, the item by itself it good without adding the benefit toward your teammates. Having a Bulwark on two champs causes the auras to stack, giving each other alot more defense!

Rushing Sightstone

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Just read an article on Reign of Gaming that changed my mind about my original initial build. I'm a numbers guy, and this guide (http://www.reignofgaming.net/blogs/a-different-view/oldmaneyebrows/22729-why-and-how-supports-should-rush-sightstone) certainly had them. The article says that it is more gold efficient to rush a Sightstone than say, a Philo stone or Kage's Pick.

Alistar is so good that a better question would be when to NOT use Alistar. It used be before all of his nerfs that he was almost a good choice no matter what. Now he still is, just not as much as he used too. I will go over when Alistar would be an excellent choice and when he would better be not chosen.


Vs. Ashe Good choice

Ashe is countered by everyone haha. Just watch for W and R and have fun feeding your carry.


Vs. Blitzcrank Good choice

This guy is a huge threat and for good reason. Luckily Alistar is the go-to robot's counter. Blitzcrank does half of Alistar's job by grabbing him. Definitely pick cow VS the robot.


Vs. Corki Evenly matched

This guy seemed to just disappear. I find he is still quite viable. Anyways there is no point in harassing this guy, he houses a ridiculously long blink. Not only that but his Gatling Gun negates your ultimate. Use Nunu & Willump, Lulu, or Lux instead. Nunu always makes Corki waste his blink. Lulu can easily put Corki at a disadvantage. Lux has range to not care about a blink.

Counters: Nunu & Willump, Lulu, Lux


Vs. Draven Good choice

An AD Carry that needs to get close to do his job, and Ali loves it when they get too close. Crowd control the executioner to get your carry a free kill. This can backfire, but typically if it's well coordinated it will work in your favor

Vs. Ezreal Evenly matched

It's not a hard counter but it works. It depends on whoever is the most skilled. It would be completely fine to choose Alistar if you wanted to counter pick the support or synergize with your carry

Counters: Have your AD Carry counterpick


Vs. Graves Bad choice

To be honest Graves is never really easy to deal with. You can when this lane but I feel there is better choices. It is good that he does get close. However he is one of the tankiest AD Carries and can counter attack after you combo him.


Counters: Taric


Vs. Janna Bad choice

She prevents you from doing anything other than healing, even you have your jungler ganking for you your still going to be tossed in the air. At least she probably won't help kill you. I would recommend strong poke supports or passive supports.

Counters: Blitzcrank, Lulu, Taric


Vs. (ADC) Kennen Good choice

Not only does cow counter AD Carry Kennen, he counters all Kennen's! You can headbutt the mouse's ult away. Alistar is a kill block all game for Kennen. Choose the cow whenever you see an enemy yordle ninja at all.


Vs. Kog'Maw Good choice

The little void dude has a hard time against all aggressive laners. Obviously Alistar is no exception. You can zone him to hell. Have fun feeding your carry. Watch for late game though, or make sure it doesn't come.


Vs. Leona Evenly matched

Another great support, and doesn't get banned nearly as often as Blitz. The minotaur can simply put a abrupt halt to a Leona assault. However it works the other way as well, think of it like if it where alistar vs alistar. Consider having a strong synergy with your carry.

Counters: Lulu, Janna, Taric


Vs. Lulu Bad choice

Lulu can peel off of you and turn you into a cute little cupcake if you get too close. Like Janna, Lulu prevents you from doing your job. Since you won't be able to do anything, a better choice would be boring ol' Soraka. Lulu is also like Janna because they both don't like Nidalee. Karma is surprisingly good as well

Counters: Soraka, Nidalee, Karma


Miss Fortune Evenly matched

My opinion is this champion is a sleeping giant. I think she is the most powerful ADC at the moment (12/30/12), even if she isn't quite played that much. She has a poke like Caitlyn's and a close range harass like Draven. Her ultimate is a monster all on it's own, she needs to be focused in a teamfight like if she where Amumu or Katarina. The buffed Miss Fortune rips the nerfed Alistar a new one. Mostly is is her anti-healing, which you tend to spam in a engagement. Her mobility makes even the fastest of cows to catch. The only expection to where alistar would be great is to use Tristana vs Miss Fortune. Tristana simply outrades Miss Fortune. Otherwise a better choice in supports would be the super reliable Taric, the infamous Blitzcrank, or the aggressive Leona. With Leona you do need to be careful, but it's high risk high reward.

Counters: Taric, Blitzcrank, Leona


Vs. Nami Good choice

The new support. I tend to handle her quite easily. The "back and fourth" harass tends to make her oom before you do. Her landing Q causes the enemy to get to close, where you can combo their butts! Her ult doesn't matter, your already used to being slow. Plus Alistar loves to deal with squishy targets.


Vs. Nautilus Good choice

Another aggressive support that is countered by Ali. I have alot of fun and surprising success with him, and I would consider him viable in certain situations. Anyways, the pattern is there because Ali simply counters aggressive supports, and Big Daddy is no exception.


Vs. Soraka Evenly matched

This is a stalemate lane for Alistar. Soraka has the same story as Lulu and Janna, except you can just walk away when she silences you. You can't do your job, but you can still play the heal game along with Soraka. If you see a Soraka, it would be a good time to use your fellow CC brother Blitzcrank. He is usually banned, so any other aggressive support would be fine. Leona, Nautilus even the very nichey Volibear support. The new support Nami works well too. Sona can have a heal fest with Soraka except can assist in a kill much better.

Counters: Blitzcrank, Leona, Nami


Vs. Thresh Good Choice

This lane is similar to Blitz. Thresh doesn't have to pull you all the way in, so he can be safe. His cc is slow enough for you to pull of your cc first. Not only that but if Thresh does do an assault on your carry you can easily put a halt to that. Your ultimate laughs at his ultimate. Any of Thresh's autoattack harass is nicely healed by yours truly. Alistar is a good choice to beat the warden.


Vs. Vayne Bad choice

Vayne has always been a problem for the poor cow, even before his nerfs. Vayne laughs at your tankiness with her true damage, and even with all of your cc she can still stick on you. Nunu & Willump would be the best alternative choice, because his iceball can slow and lower attack speed. The two thing Vayne really does not want to happen. Taric is also another reliable choice.

Counters: Taric, Nunu & Willump


Vs. Zyra Bad chocie

Haven't really went against a her in nerfed form, but she was a problem for Alistar before. Have fun not being in your bush and getting snared when you try to harass. Zyra is just an good support overall, and Alistar isn't the best way to deal with her. She hard to counter too. The best counters are the ones that weren't so popular before. I'm talking about Lux and Fiddlesticks. Lux has equally strong bush control. Fiddlesticks doesn't care about what Zyra can do and still harass the enemy carry.

Counters: Lux, Fiddlesticks

This guide is more of a Summoner's Rift support guide. Alistar is exceptional at dominion and was probably where he was the best at the end of season 2.

Here is a link to a guide dedicated to Dominion Alistar. The build I have is different, but they both work well.

http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/ali-the-most-op-dominion-champion-updated-for-new-items-131212

In my opinion it's really not worth doing anymore. Alistar jungle was strong in season 2 because early ganks where as big of a risk as they are now, not to mention you can't start boots anymore. Other junglers like Maokai, Nautilus and Rammus suffer from this same problem, to a lesser extent. Riot wanted to nerf support junglers and they did it. Even with a machete alistar will have unbearable slow clears or make himself oom while farming. Ganking is fine after the initial clear though, but it's gotten to the point where other junglers like Hecarim and Vi do what Alistar did but better.

Won the game but didn't do quite as well as I wanted. Why? Well I laned against a skilled Lulu. Not only that but my partner was Graves and the other AD Carry was Caitlyn. We were countered hard, but I never get to pick Alistar! So when I saw that he wasn't banned for once, I chose him as first pick! After the laning phase my score started to go up and we won.



Did quite well this game. I had an ADC Vayne VS Ezreal and Nami. What I would do in lane is wait for Nami to miss her q and then charge after them, mostly to creep block. When we where up in there tower I would use The Pin to deal Trinity Force Tons of damage to the Ezreal. Vayne became super farmed and was a hyper carry that game.



I'm not afraid to put a lost game on here, I still did good in this one. It was one of those games where it went super late, so as soon as one team made a mistake (even if it was small) they would lose. Anyways I was with Graves Vs. Ashe and Sona. We won our lane, Ashe doesn't have the best early game. I think the biggest problem was none of us knew how to deal with Vi, she soloed against a fellow Volibear and I, and came out on top. It was still a fun game though.



A game that started out weak and ended very strong. It was a fellow Varus Vs Draven and Taric (who are a potent combo). The laning phase was really back and forth until we lose our lane to a four man gank. As "nothing could hold me back" we pressed on and eventually won a teamfight and snowballed to a long win. Another thing is, don't be afraid to pressure the enemy team from your base even if you are the support. So we lost a teamfight and i was the only one who got out, thanks to Flash. We pushed into there base but they only destroyed the first row of turrets. They proceeded to destroy the second mid turret after killing us in the jungle, where I was still hanging around. I noticed the top lane was being absolutely mauled by our minions, so I decided to help push it further, since it was 1 turret away from the inhib. They sent two guys to kill me (not before i singlehandedly destroyed the inhibitor) which left them unable to fully push the middle into our turret. We recovered and won the game afterwards.

I would like to thank...

Everyone that has or will in the future up voted my guide or just commenting.

Zanethagreat - for supporting my guide

M4lkav - for asking a question that I will probably put the answer to into the guide.

jhoijhoi - for her guide on making a guide that in turn will make my guide look better...in the future.

vDeathPunchv - for supporting my guide and making me a cool signature.

Madlite - for making the sick football alistar!

I would like to give credit for the teemo alistar, but i can't find the maker.

Thank you all for making my guide the best support Alistar guide (as of 1/2/2013).

Alistar is still a good champion, just balanced now. Gone are the days where he was king of the supports. He is not bad, just one of the most difficult to use effectively. Nobody, even now, wants to deal against a properly played minotaur.

The guide will be continue to be updated as League of Legends is updated, along with more Alistar experience.

I hope you all enjoyed my guide! If you have anything you wish for me to add, leave me a comment! Have a nice day!