DISCLAIMER:

1.If you want to play Alistar you must have dem mighty ballz of steel because often you will be the initiator for your team.If you are afraid of initiating you might aswell not play Alistar.
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Hi there and welcome to my first guide on Solomid.This guide will feature Alistar and I will explain in-depth how to play him from my point of view.This guide will feature both Support and Jungle Alistar as I have played both of them to an extent.

My Preseason Three stats:



My Season Two Alistar stats:



Alistar's story:

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's stats:

Damage.........55.03 (+3.62 / per level)
Health............442 (+102 / per level)
Mana..............215 (+38 / per level)
Move Speed.....305
Armor..............14.5 (+3.5 / per level)
Spell Block.......30 (+1.25 / per level)
Health Regen....7.25 (+0.85 / per level)
Mana Regen......6.45 (+0.45 / per level)

Late August Patch

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

I don't like the nerfs.Now Alistar was already a slow moving champion.Now you need to rush Boots of Mobility in order to be effective, also the cast range on his Headbutt makes now the Headbutt and Pulverize combos a lot harder to pull off.

Preseason 3 Patch

Jungle


Overview
Initial difficulty of all jungle camps has been increased
Camp difficulty and rewards have been re-distributed more into the large monster in each camp
Scaling difficulty and rewards of the primary jungle camps have been significantly increased
Overall rewards have been re-distributed between the 3 primary jungle camps (Wolves, Wraiths, Golems) to better match their difficulty and convenience
New jungle items have been added to the store and old jungle items have been adjusted
Leashing has been changed
Jungle monsters now attack the closest target rather than chasing their original target
Whenever jungle monsters switch targets it counts as a “leash” - the maximum amount of leashes after which jungle monsters will reset has been increased to 10 from 3

Jungle monsters now deal 50% bonus damage to non-champions (ex: Malzahar's Voidlings, Shaco's Jack in the Box)

The “Banking” system that caused jungle monsters that have stayed alive for a long duration to have slightly increased rewards has been removed

Giant Wolf
Base Health increased to 900 from 550
Health per minute increased to 40 from 31
Base Attack Damage increased to 35 from 24
Attack Damage per minute increased 0.7 from 0.44
Base Gold increased to 44 from 40
Gold per minute increased to 0.65 from 0.43
Base Experience increased to 153 from 128
Experience per minute increased to 2.3 from 1.5
Movement Speed reduced to 443 from 510
Critical Strike damage reduced to 150% from 300%

Wolf
Base Health reduced to 300 from 360
Health per minute increased to 25 from 16.5
Base Attack Damage reduced to 8 from 14
Attack Damage per minute increased to 0.43 from 0.286
Base Gold reduced to 4 from 5
Gold per minute increased to 0.081 from 0.054
Experience per minute increased to 0.32 from 0.2136
Movement Speed reduced to 443 from 510
Critical Strike damage reduced to 150% from 200%

Wraith
Base Health increased to 750 from 400
Health per minute increased to 39 from 28
Base Attack Damage increased to 35 from 25
Attack Damage per minute increased to 0.75 from 0.5
Base Gold reduced to 25 from 33
Gold per minute increased to 0.72 from 0.48
Base Experience reduced to 103 from 105
Experience per minute increased to 2.1 from 1.4
Attack Range reduced to 300 from 650

Lesser Wraith
Base Health reduced to 250 from 275
Health per minute increased to 18 from 12.1
Base Attack Damage reduced to 10 from 17
Attack Damage per minute increased to 0.33 from 0.2195
Base Gold reduced to 3 from 4
Gold per minute increased to 0.054 from 0.036
Base Experience reduced to 15 from 22
Experience per minute increased to 0.16 from 0.1064

Big Golem
Base Health increased to 1000 from 950
Health per minute increased to 48 from 37
Attack Damage per minute increased to 1.6 from 1.05
Base Gold increased to 45 from 40
Gold per minute increased to 0.8 from 0.38
Base Experience increased to 137 from 117
Experience per minute increased to 2.4 from 1.55
Movement Speed increased 350 from 300
Attack Range increased to 150 from 100
Magic Resist reduced to -10 from 0

Golem
Base Health increased to 500 from 450
Health per minute increased to 37 from 25
Attack Damage per minute increased to 1.3 from 0.84
Gold per minute increased to 0.23 from 0.15
Experience per minute increased to 1.6 from 1.08
Movement Speed increased to 350 from 300
Attack Range increased to 150 from 100
Magic Resist reduced to -10 from 0

Ancient Golem
Base Health increased to 1500 from 1350

Lizard Elder
Base Health increased to 1500 from 1350

Young Lizard
Base Health increased to 300 from 250

Dragon
Base Health increased to 3500 from 3200
Health per minute increased to 240 from 220
Attack Range reduced to 350 from 500

Baron Nashor
Base Health increased to 8800 from 8000
Health per minute increased to 140 from 125

This patch made the jungle for Alistar overall harder.Now I have to set up the new masteries and runes(and some of the itemization) to help Alistar survive in the new jungle.

Preseason Balance Update 2

Alistar

Base movement speed increased to 330 from 325

Headbutt
Range increased to 650 from 600

Jungle
Wraith
Base gold increased to 30 from 25
Base health increased to 1000 from 750
Lesser Wraith
Base health reduced to 150 from 250
Giant Wolf
Base gold increased to 55 from 40
Base health increased to 1100 from 900
Wolf
Base health reduced to 200 from 300
Golem
Base gold increased to 55 from 45
Base health increased to 1200 from 1000
Small Golem
Base health reduced to 300 from 500

The W buff is a HUGE buff as you can properly initiate again, the jungle changes benefit those single target junglers like Warwick but you shouldn't have problems in the jungle as you will have enough defense and clearing power to get out just fine.

• For jungle Alistar:

Since the preseason three mastery changes I cannot afford spending points in the offense tree as the defense and utility trees are overall better.To make up for the lack of points in the offensive tree I geared the rune page towards clearing the early jungle.


Defensive tree:

Summoner's Resolve:1/1 - Since you won't get so much gold because you are a ganking jungler I take this to recover a small amount of gold every time I use Smite.
Durability:4/4 - +108 health at level 18 is something you don't pass.If you ever make it out of the teamfight with less than 100 HP you should be thanking this mastery.
Tough Skin:2/2 - This helps you take less damage in this new, tougher jungle.
Hardiness:3/3 - The armor from this mastery along with the armor from the runes will help you in the jungle and in teamfights.
Bladed Armor:1/1 - Aimed towards clearing time.
Unyielding:2/2 - In teamfights every damage reduction is great as you will be often the main tank.
Veteran's Scars:1/1 - +30 flat HP to help you fulfill the role better(you will be getting ~200 HP at level 18 just from the masteries)
Juggernaut:3/3 - More health to make Alistar even tankier.
Legendary Armor:3/3 - Bonus resistances.I like that.
Honor Guard:1/1 - As I said, every damage reduction is great.

Utility tree:

Summoner's Insight:1/1 - Reduced cooldown on your Flash is good because you will use it to get in position to initiate.
Wanderer:3/3 - This mastery will help you get faster in the jungle or in position to gank.
Improved Recall:1/1 - Get back faster, buy your items faster, get back in the action faster.
Mastermind:3/3 - This along with the cooldown reduction from the upgraded boots will reduce your Flash cooldown by a lot.
Runic Affinity:1/1 - I like having increased buff duration so I can have a faster clear time with blue buff and better ganks with red buff.

• For support Alistar:

For support Alistar I run a 0/9/21 page that gives me enough defense to survive those early game skirmishes and better supporting abilities with the help of the Utility tree.

Defensive tree:

Durability:4/4 - +108 health at level 18 is something you don't pass.If you ever make it out of the teamfight with less than 100 HP you should be thanking this mastery.
Hardiness:3/3 - Take less damage from the enemy AD autoattacks.
Resistance:1/3 - Take less damage from the enemy support skills.
Veteran's Scars:1/1 - +30 flat HP to help you fulfill the role better(initiator/peeler).

Utility tree:

Summoner's Insight:1/1 - Reduced cooldown on Flash for better initiations.
Meditation:3/3 - For more Headbutt and Pulverize combos when aggresive or more heals when passive.
Mastermind:3/3 - This along with the cooldown reduction from the upgraded boots will reduce your Flash cooldown by a lot.
Artificer:1/2 - This mastery will help your teamfight capacities by a lot(think about when you use Shurelyas or Shard of True Ice).
Greed:4/4 - You are a support.You need any extra gold.
Biscuiteer:1/1 - Saves you money for one/two hp pots.
Wealth:2/2 - At the start you can buy a bonus vision ward or sight ward.
Explorer:1/1 - You can place this in your jungle when the buffs spawn if you think the enemy jungler will try to gimp your jungler.
Pickpocket:1/1 - You get gold whenever you attack an enemy champion.Don't do that too often as you can get punished.
Intelligence:3/3 - Your abilities have quite a long cooldown.This mastery help you reduce it.
Nimble:1/1 - What's better than an angry bull runing at you?That's right, a faster angry bull.

• For jungle Alistar:

Marks:

6xGreater Mark of Attack Speed and 3xGreater Mark of Armor Penetration:I run this mix of Marks to help Alistar's clear time.

Alternatives:

Either 9xGreater Mark of Desolation or 9xGreater Mark of Attack Speed

Seals:

9xGreater Seal of Armor:These runes are mandatory on every jungler.It allows you to keep a good HP percentage without the need of spamming .

Alternatives:

There aren't any alternatives in here.

Glyphs:

9xGreater Glyph of Scaling Magic Reist:Lategame you will need the Magic Resistance against those bursty AP casters.

Alternatives:

9xGreater Glyph of Attack Speed
9xGreater Glyph of Magic Resist

Quints:

3xGreater Quintessence of Armor Penetration:I decided to switch back to these quints as his base MS got buffed and with the help of these runes you will be dealing true damage to jungle minions in the first clear.

Alternatives:

3xGreater Quintessence of Moving Speed
3xGreater Quintessence of Attack Speed

The armor of the jungle creeps:

Giant wolf: 9
Small wolves: 6
Golems: 12
Wraith: 15
Lesser wraiths: 5
Blue golem: 20
Small lizards from blue: 8
Lizard elder: 20
Small lizards from red: 8
Dragon: 21
Baron: 120

The armor penetration you gain from this rune page is 12.7.That means your attacks will penetrate the target's armor by 12.7.As most jungle creeps have below 12.7 armor that means you will be doing true damage to them.

• For support Alistar:

• Marks:

9xGreater Mark of Armor:I use these marks against heavy AD harass and to reduce the damage against autoattacks from the other supports like and

Alternatives:

9xGreater Mark of Armor Penetration:If you wanna go really aggressive.This works when paired with and

• Seals

9xGreater Seal of Armor:For the same reason as marks.

Alternatives:

9xGreater Seal of Avarice
9xGreater Seal of Fortitude:Against very strong harass champs I take these seals.

• Glyphs:

9xGreater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist:I run these Glyph to resist the burst of the AP carries in late game.This along with your ultimate will negate a lot of damage.

Alternatives:

9xGreater Glyph of Magic Resist.

• Quints:

3xGreater Quintessence of Gold per 10:This along with Philosopher's Stones and Kage's Lucky Pick will give you some free gold for you to buy as many wards as possible.

Alternatives:

3xGreater Quintessence of Armor

I use Flash because it allows me to initiate,setup ganks,reposition yourself in teamfights and you can also use it to escape in those sticky situations(you were caught counter-jungling or the outcome of a gank you've made went wrong)



Smite is mandatory on every jungler.Without it you can get your buffs stolen easily and when it comes to dragon or baron it could be even worse.

Level Total Damage
1 490
2 520
3 550
4 580
5 610
6 640
7 670
8 700
9 730
10 760
11 790
12 820
13 850
14 880
15 910
16 940
17 970
18 1000

Small tip:Before you do a buff,dragon or baron check how much damage smite does so you can secure the objective.

Things that can outdamage your smite:

Nunu's Consume(500/600/700/800/900 true damage)
Cho'Gath's Feast(1000+ true damage)
A fed carry with an global ultimate(Ezreal,Lux,Ashe,Draven)

Other choices:

:Sometimes Ghost is better than Flash when you want to get in position for your combo.This along with Shurelya's should give you a huge burst of movement speed.Replace if you are willing to go with Ghost.

:If you want your ganks to result 99% in a kill, pick Exhaust.You can alost take Exhaust if you are against a strong counterjungler or nobody in your team has Exhaust.Replace if you are willing to go with Exhaust.









As I said earlier Flash is mandatory on Alistar because of the benefits you get while you have this spell.



In the today's meta the AD Carry is carrying Heal or Ignite and the Support take Exhaust or Clarivoyance.You can use Exhaust to shut down the enemy carry after you've initiated or the peel the enemy bruiser from your carry.

Other choices:



Clarivoyance gives you and advantage for your jungler.Basically you reveal where the jungler is and create an opportunity for your jungler to counterjungler.Take Clarivoyance only if someone on your team already has Exhaust and instruct them to use it on the enemy AD carry.

Whenever Alistar casts a spell, he gains Trample for 3 seconds ignoring unit collision and dealing 10-23 (+10% ability power) area damage per second (double damage to minions and monsters)




This passive helps to clear jungle creeps faster.Also a neat trick is to use heal and stay in front of the ranged creeps for one second so you AD Carry has an easier time last hitting at tower.




Alistar smashes the ground, dealing 60/105/150/195/240 (+50% of ability power) magic damage and tossing all nearby enemy units into the air and stunning them for 0.5 seconds.

Cooldown 17/16/15/14/13 seconds

Cost 70 / 85 / 100 / 115 / 130 mana

Range 365




Alistar's trademark skill.With this skill you can do so many good things for your team.Either an Flash into Pulverize or a Headbutt into Pulverize combo.Dont use this on the champs who has the following: or Sivir's and Nocturne's Spell Shield because they will benefit from that.I max this first for the cooldown and damage.




Alistar charges at an enemy and rams them dealing 85/130/175/220/265 (+70% of ability power) magic damage and knocking them back (does not stun).

Cooldown 14/13/12/11/10 seconds

Cost 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120mana

Range 650




This skill is the "GTFO MY WAY" skill.Basically, you can punt them away to save your carry or yourself,peel the bruisers from your carry and even punt them through thin walls.This with your Pulverize will act as a mini Malphite ultimate on a very short cooldown.I max this second.




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.

Cooldown 12 seconds
Cost 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 mana
Range 200



Your heal.The cool thing about this skill is that the cooldown is reduced when enemy creeps die near you.Use this ability when jungle creeps are low hp to maximize the sustain in the jungle.I take a point at level 3 and max it last because of the nerfs.




Alistar gains 60 / 75 / 90 physical damage, and takes 50/60/70% reduced physical and magic damage for 7 seconds.

Cooldown 120 / 100 / 80seconds
Cost 150 mana



Your ultimate.The "press to be a tank" button.Use this when you do behind the turret ganks and after you initiated.You can also use it to kill that low hp enemy with the AD boost that it gives.You should use this after an vita CC has been thrown to you and laugh as they try to kill you.I max this whenever I have the chance(at level 6,11 and 16)

>>>

Preety standard skill order.In some tough lanes I would put an extra point or two in heal to recover from harass faster.

I max Q first to have reduced cooldown and increased damage.
I max W second so I have similar cooldown and damage with my Q.
I max E last because of the recent nerfs that increased Triumphant's Roar mana cost.
And of course I put a point on my ultimate whenever I can.

This is the skill order for all my builds.

For Jungle Alistar:

START

OR

CORE



ONWARD




SITUATIONAL ITEMS

- If they have a lot of AD.
- If the enemy AD carry is fed.
- If they have lots of AOE damage.
- If you think your AD carry needs the aura.
- If the enemy AP is fed.
- Can help you scout brushes/slow down people to make your initiation easier.
- If your team already has an initiator and you need the ultimate peeling power.

Example end game build:


For support Alistar:

START



CORE



ONWARD

,,,
and many

SITUATIONAL ITEMS

- If the enemy relies on attack speed.
- If they have huge AOE damage.
- If you think your team needs the aura.
- If they have a lot of AD.
- Can help you scout brushes/slow down people to make your initiation easier.
- If your team already has an initiator and you need the ultimate peeling power.

Example end game build:

• The Headbutt and Pulverize combo™

So many people don't know how to do this simple combo.Well an easy way to learn to use it is this:After you clicked W just MASH YOUR Q BUTTON TO THROW YOUR ENEMY/S INTO THE SKY BEGGING FOR SURVIVAL.You can create a custom game and try to W-Q minions.Once you've mastered this technique you will be able to turn teamfights in your favor and be a real threat for the enemy team.I recommend turning smart cast OFF while playing Alistar.

When to use it:

-when you want to initiate a teamfight
-when you want to engage with your AD Carry earlygame and you don't have flash ready
-when someone is behind a wall and you have vision use the combo to get to the other part of the wall and surprise your enemy.

Here is a video that demonstrates how to do this combo:



-credits to kraspeed for uploading this video.

• The "slap that b***h" Headbutt.

What this does is auto attacking the enemy champion while you are in the headbutt animation.You can do more damage to make sure your target doesn't escape with low hp in the early laning phase.

• The "OMAGAAAD I WAS STUNNED FOR 4 SECONDS" combo

With this combo you can stun then from large periods of time to allow your carry to kill the enemy.
How to do it:You Headbutt the enemy laner into a wall with "slap that b***h" and then wait until he tries to move and Pulverize his a*s into the air.

• The "void headbutt"

You can use this to kick an enemy through a thin wall.THIS CAN WIN GAMES but also be sure to not kick the enemy to safety or your teammates will curse you.

• The "where did this Alistar come from?" combo

With your Headbutt you can go through walls.Use this to your advantage!If you have vision of the enemy just headbutt to him while a wall is between you and then watch how he says in all chat "WTF WHERE DID DIS ALISTAR COME FROM???".

• When to use your Unbreakable Will?

You should use your ultimate when:

-a vital CC has been wasted on you
-after you initiated
-if you have been CC'd and you can't protect your carry
-when you have a reasonable amount of hp left.

When to NOT use your ultimate:

-you have been slowed
-you are low hp
-before you initiate because you can scare the enemies which can make you initiates harder to do.

• How to zone someone out of a fight

As Alistar you have the abiltiy to zone an enemy champion out a fight while CC'ing the others.For example you dont want that Janna in the fight you can use your Headbutt to her.That will bring you in the center of the enemy team making you able to use your Pulverize effectively.

• You are afraid you can't pull off your Headbutt and Pulverize combo?

If you think you can't pull off the Headbutt and Pulverize combo here is one small tip.Use your Headbutt to a minion that is behind your target and the use your Pulverize after you are behind them.

Pros:

-two CC's for ganking
-can set the enemy on a huge tilt
-good HP sustain in the jungle
-he is a cow
-great invader
-somewhat blue buff reliant
-great counter-ganker

Cons:

-not so fast clearer
-susceptible to counterjungling
-can fall behind really hard if he doesn't pull off successful ganks.
-susceptible to true damage



Your jungling route should be like this:

-kill wolves with the help of your team
-kill blue buff with the help of your team
-GANK MID
-kill wraiths
-kill red
-GANK BOT OR MID
-kill wariths
-kill wolves
-GANK TOP



-kill wraiths with the help of your team
-kill red buff without smite with the help of your team
-make your team head to his blue buff and kill it with your smite
-GANK MID
-kill wolves
-GANK TOP/BOT
-kill double golems
-GANK BOT/TOP.

Below there is an image that shows which way to gank the lanes(the most common ones).While you are ganking you should Headbutt to enemy to your ally then pulverize him as soon as he is able to move again.This should enable first blood 90% of times and a waste of a summoner 100% of the times.If he wasted flash just gank the lane one more time and get the kill.If you see the enemy mid raging in all chat just CAMP HIS LANE and watch him raging and/or DC-ing.



I suggest you before ganking a lane that you ask if it's warded or not.If all the lanes are warded you may try a ninja gank(make your laner push and you sneak from the lane brush and when the oportunity arises use your CC.)



Baron:7 minutes | Initial spawn: 15:00 minutes
Dragon:6 minutes | Initial spawn: 2:30 minutes
Red Buff:5 minutes | Initial spawn: 1:55 minutes
Blue Buff:5 minutes | Initial spawn: 1:55 minutes
Double golems:60 seconds | Initial spawn: 1:40 minutes
Wolves:60 seconds | Initial spawn: 1:40 minutes
Wraiths:50 seconds | Initial spawn: 1:40 minutes



Here are some champions that you will meet into the jungle:



I suggest invading against this champ if you team has follow-up CC's.If you don't want to invade him at his blue you can choose to start at THEIR RED and gank the lane that is closest to you.I suggest you give the other red to your top laner or AD carry(depending on which side you are).Also you should be ganking a lot more than Amumu because his pre-6 ganks rely on him hitting his Bandage Toss.In late game when you see Amumu using Q PUNT HIM AWAY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.He will gank at level 4 and 6.



Haven't seen so much Cho'Gath's lately but he is reliant on the first blue buff to be effective.Also you should be careful to not be counter jungled because he has somewhat fast clear time.Can gank at level 2,4,6.



Needs blue buff to be effective.If you meet him in your jungle DO NOT FIGHT HIM!Just keep him in your jungle until your teammates arrive(hopefully).Can gank at level 2,3,4,6.



I suggest you start at red on this one.He might start blue then rush to your red and kill it.After that go to your blue,kill it then gank.Also be prepared to be counter jungled.Ganks at level 2,3,4,6.



Jungle Elise is quite strong in Season three with the help of her little spiders.She deals a lot of damage in ganks,has CC and a gap closer.Quite broken in my opinion.Ganks at level 3,4,6.



Similar style as you.You shouldn't have problems against Eve.Carry a Vision ward with you in case she wants to cou7nterjungle.Ganks at level 2,3,4,6.



I suggest you invade his blue.Also don't fight him when you meet him.In team fights if you see him channel his ultimate use your Headbutt to cancel his ultimate.Ganks at level 3,4,6.



Not a fast clearer.Do not fight her in the jungle.If she casts her ultimate just go into a brush to cancel it.Can gank at level 2,4 and 6.



He is seen rarely in the jungle nowadays.He needs his blue buff to spam oranges and parrley so try to deny his blue so you have an easier time against him.Ganks at level 4,6.



Jungle Gragas is increasing in popularity so I thought I should add him.He will usually start wolves then blue and will try to level two/three gank a lane so tell your teammates to be careful until you are there to gank.Ganks at level 2,3,6.



He isn't that reliant on blue buff and you shouldn't have problems against him.If you meet him in your jungle KEEP HIM THERE UNTIL YOUR ALLIES COME TO KILL HIM.His pre-6 ganks aren't that good so try to delay his level 6.Usually ganks at level 4.



Do not fight this guy.Seriously, if you meet him in your jungle just run away and try to gank another lane.He will beat your cow a*s off.Can gank at level 2,3,4,6.



Haven't met many Kha'Zix's in the jungle but from what I've seen he isn't a good counterjungler so you shouldn't have problem in this regard, however if you meet him in your jungle try to run closer to your camps so you don't get affected by the "isolated target" thing.It is recommended that you should carry an oracles so you can see him while he is in his ultimate.He ganks at level 6 and 6.




This guy is a nigthmare.He can start at your red and wait for you with an enemy laner and kill you when you'll go to wraiths.I suggest you starting with , and an .Ganks at level 2 95% of the time.



His pre-6 ganks aren't that awesome and he is somewhat blue buff reliant.He makes up with the good clear times.In teamfights try to peel him off your AD carry before he debuffs him.Ganks at level 4,6.



Here is another aggresive jungler.He isn't that good counterjungling so you shouldn't have problems in that regard.Be careful of counter ganks.In teamfigths when Maokai will Twisted Advance into a target PUNT HIM OUT.He will gank at level 2 90% of the time.



Often considered a troll pick jungle Yi is a farming jungler.That means he won't gank as often but he will try to counterjungle and get to lategame with decent amount of CS.What you can do to prevent counter jungling is to set a ward at YOUR wraith camp and when you see him in your jungle coordinate with your laners to kill him.Ganks at lvl 4 or 6.



INVADE.If you deny Nautilus his blue buff his jungling will be a total nigthmare.His clear time will be awful,he won't be able to gank and his teammates will blame the f*ck out of him.Be careful in teamfights though of his ultimate.If you see he casted his ultimate on you try moving to the left or right so your teammates aren't affected by it.Can gank at lvl 2,3,6.



Good Nocturne's will counterjungle you because you won't spend so much time farming creeps.He will usually try to gank you at red so try to bring a teammate with you.He can gank at level 2(40% chance),3,4 and 6.



Scary counterjungler.If he is smart he will start blue and then steal your red so I suggest you buy only one potion and a ward to prevent that.If you see him in your jungle let him run because it's hard to catch him because of his Blood Boil.In teamfights KEEP on of your CC's and when you see him using his ultimate use it to cancel the ultimate.He can gank at level 2(50% chance),3,4 and 6.



He relies on the first blue buff to be able to spam his axes.If you see him in your jungle RUN, you can't fight him.In teamfights keep your CC's and wait for his ultimate to wear off and then peel him off of your carry.He can gank at level 2,4,6.



He can start on red and do a level two gank in mid lane or he can start at blue and do a gank anywhere at level 4.His spears do a sh*t ton of damage early game so beware of that.If you are near him when he ults use on of your CC to cancel it.He will be so mad and will try to kill you so run to your nearest teammate.In teamfight if he stuns your carry punt him away and laugh as your carry kills him.He ganks at level 2(80% chance),4,6.



The nerfs hurted him quite bad.His clear time is very weak and you shouldn't have problems with him in the jungle.In teamfights be careful because he can dive your carry.He ganks at level 3,4,6.



This champion is a total bi*ch.I suggest you ward your red as he can start blue and gank you at red after your first gank.The good thing is after his burst he needs like 5 seconds for his cooldowns and that's when you have to keep him in your jungle and pray that your teammates will come and help you.Late game, always carry a pink ward or oracles so you can see him in his attempts of jumping on your carry.He ganks at level 3,4,6.



Rarely seen in the jungle Riven can be very good.She has two CC's and a lot of damage on her ganks.She will gank at level two 90% of the times.In teamfights she will go rambo mode diving on your carry.Show her some love by punting her 10,000 miles away.She can gank at level 2,3,4,6.



Haven't seen a Sejuani since her free week after her release.However she is a walking CC machine.She is reliant on the first blue buff for her clear time to be effective.In teamfigths you can negate her ultimate with your ultimate as it removes any CC from him and counter initiate for your team.She can gank at any level from 2 to 6.



This champion is a total bi*ch.Similar to Lee Sin he can start at your red buff and kill you.Tell your team to not push past river so he doesn't have the opportunity to gank and get fed.An underfed Shaco is useless.He can also clear dragon very fast alone at level 6 thanks to his clone so try to have ward coverage of that objective.In late game good Shaco's try to splitpush so warn your team if he tries to do that.He can gank at level 2(100% chance),3,4,6.



Slow jungler.He will start at red and will do a gank at level two because of his taunt.He isn't a problem for you because you can do three ganks while he can do only a gank in the same time frame.He is also a good split pusher because of his ultimate.He will try to taunt your AD carry so punt him away after the taunt wears off.He can gank at level 2(70% chance),3,4,6.



Shyvana is one the fastest clearers in the jungle and she can gank anywhere from level two to six despite the fact her pre-6 ganks are awful without red.She is also an excpetional counterjungler.In teamfigths punt her away as soon as she uses her ultimate.She can gank at level 2,3,4,6.



He is similar to in terms of ganking.He is a strong counterjungler and has a fast clear time.Don't fight him in the jungle, he can kill you.In teamfights you need to have ver yfast reactions to punt him away before he uses his ultimate on your AD carry.



Haven't met any Trundle in the jungle so my knowledge is weak.I will update this as soon as I meet one.



This champion will probably start at red an do a level two gank or continue his clear.Because of his crits he can clear time jungle quite fast.Lategame punt him away when he uses his spin on your carry.Also tell your teammates to ignite him after 3 seconds he has used his ultimate.He can gank at level 2,3,6.



This matchup is similar to Eve except the fact that Twitch is ranged and Eve is melee.Always carry a pink ward with you or an oracle's.In teamfights he is not a huge threat if he isn't fed.I will explain how to deal with fed champions in the team fighting section.He can gank at level 2,3,4,6.



Pheonix Udyr is maybe the fastest jungler in the game.He is reliant on blue buff on the first clear though so try to deny him.He will try to steal your red after he does his blue so place a ward in there and coordinate with your teammates.In teamfigths he is kitable so your AD carry shouldn't have problems against him.He can gank at any level.



This champions early game pressure can match yours.Not only she has superior clearing abilities but she can outdamage you too.I suggest you invade her because her level one is weak and this can screw her game.Lategame you will want to keep your CC's and use them after she uses her ultimate on your AD carry.One more tip I can give is to use one of your CC while she is casting her Q so she will have to wait 3 seconds before using it again.She ganks at level 2,3,4,6.



This matchup is similar to the Skarner one but Warwick has inferior clear time and relies on red buff to do his pre-6 ganks.You should try to coordinate with your top or bot lane to gank him at his red to get a huge advantage over the game.



With his recent rework he has become very popular.He has a lot of damage and a CC in his ganks but lacks an escape mechanism so abuse that.If you meet him in your jungle use your W AFTER he jumped on you so he will need to blow a summonner if he wants to catch you.In teamfigths he will try to dive your carry so do your job of peeling him away or keep in him in your team if he went the glass cannon way.He can gank at level 2,3,4,6.



This guy has a slighlty faster clear than yours but his E makes ganks from him unpredictable.If you see him casting his E or uses his ultimate just punt him away if you are in range.If you find him in your jungle keep him there until your teammates come.He can gank at level 3,4,5,6.

Pros:

-two CC's for setting up ganks/kills
-great invader
-can save your AD carry's a*s in ganks
-he is a cow
-spammable heal

Cons:

-mana costs
-susceptible to true damage
-prone to ranged harass because he is melee





As most of you know wards are an important part of map control which leads to winning games.
I've noticed myself though that while some players do place wards, they do not place them in good locations.

Wards are used to:
-Ensure important objectives are locked down (Buffs, Dragon, Baron, jungle as a whole)
-Increase overall map control (placement in choke points)
-Prevent ganks/countergank

Placement of wards besides main objectives are usually dependant on the time of game, what your team/enemy team is doing.
e.g you want to push, you might want to ward river (1st turret) enemy jungle (2nd turret onwards) or even both to watch out for approaching teamfights/ganks from jungle and respond accordingly
OR you want to defend, you might want to ward river/your own jungle for similar reasons

Notes:

• You can usually use sight wards as a target for friendly units as well, this means you can teleport to them, and certain spells such as Jax's Leap and Katarinas Shunpo can be cast on them to close gaps or escape.
• Wards can be placed without breaking stealth (twitch, eve, shaco to an extent)
• Try to keep wards in a bush if possible, this means an enemy with oracles will have to be in the bush itself to see/kill it. Also a bonus of vision in bush as usual.
• Wards can be displaced using knockup abilities, e.g Alistar and Chogath (baron if you place it near enough) and this is highly annoying since it was probably placed beautifully (like in this guide), and those mofos just ruined it.
• Wards die in 3 hits no matter what your AD is.
• Wards last 3 minutes.

With Ashe your job to try to get a kill at level one when she has her passive and Volley and u have your Pulverize.Until level 6 you should play as passive as possible but when you both get your ultimates you should wait for Ashe to shoot her arrow then punt the target to Ashe and when they Flash just Pulverize then and you should get the kill.



If the enemy carry or support is near a Caitlyn trap punt them into the direction of the trap so they get snared and then Pulverize to get the target regret they were near that trap.Also you can do the "OMAGAAAD I WAS STUNNED FOR 4 SECONDS" combo and leave Caitlyn do the rest.



Tell Corki to do some auto attacks on the enemy carry at level one and when you both hit level two you should Flash into Pulverize and Headbutt the carry into your carry.At level 6 it gets funnier:tell your jungler to stay in the brush behind the outer turret and also tell Corki to push then do the combo mentioned above and also use your ultimate so you don't die to turret hits.



You should play this matchup as aggresive as level one.If he can pull off some spinning axes the enemie carry/support will be at like 70% HP remaining and if he took Ignite he could score a kill easily if you would Flash and Pulverize the Exhausting the target Draven is focusing.All in all you should wait for him to engage and the go all in on the target he focuses.DO NOT PUNT YOUR ENEMY OUTSIDE OF HIS ULTIMATE.



You should play this matchup similar to the Corki one.



One note on Graves:When you do the Flash>Pulverize combo, LET GRAVES USE HIS BUCKSHOT AND ULTIMATE before punting the enemy carry into Graves so the burst damage will be huge.You should try to do your "OMAGAAAD I WAS STUNNED FOR 4 SECONDS" combo as often as possible.



One of the most played kill lanes.You should let Miss Fortune do the harass and when the opportunity arrises you should to the Flash>pulverize combo.Also dont punt the enemy outside of Miss Fortune's ultimate.



She is a powerful duelist and you should engage on the enemy AD as often as possible.However is she wants to play passive, do so.In teamfights you shouldn't worry about her too much unless she is getting focused by 3 enemy champions.



Do the "OMAGAAAD I WAS STUNNED FOR 4 SECONDS" combo to set her up free boomerangs.When the target is low enough and you don't have Flash use your Headbutt&Pulverize combo and let Sivir do the rest.



My favorite carry when I play Alistar.Tell Tristana to take he Rocket Jump at level one and do some auto attacks on the enemy carry.AS SOON AS YOU BOTH HIT LEVLE TWO you should Flash>Pulverize,wait for her to jump in,Headubtt him in the opposite direction of his turret,let Tristana use E and let her finish for the first blood.At level six it gets better.Use Flash>Pulverize,wait for Tristana to jump in,Headbutt him in the opposite direction of his turret,wait for Tristana to use E and Ultiamte and get the kill,rinse and repeat whenever your Flash and her ultimate are up.



Haven't supported many Urgot's but you should let him do the harrass and at level 6 wait for him to ultimate and punt the target further away and when he Flashes, Pulverize him and let Urgot take the kill.



Do the "OMAGAAAD I WAS STUNNED FOR 4 SECONDS" combo to set up free arrows for Varus.At level six wait for him to use his ultimate then Pulverize the snared target and push him/her in the opposite direction of his tower.It should result in a kill/wasted summoner 90% of the times.



The combination of your CC is lethal and this is one of the most played kill lanes.Do the "OMAGAAAD I WAS STUNNED FOR 4 SECONDS" combo and let Vayne use her Condemn to get the target stunned for even more.In late game you should protect her as she is an hypercarry and you don't want her dead.






Many supports are afraid when they see a Blitzcrank because of his pull.Alistar isn't afraid.How to play against him:Try avioding his pull until you get level two and then BAIT him to pull you and use your CC on the enemy carry.Lategame if he grabs you, use Headbutt to knock them up, to slow them, Headbutt the enemy carry towrds your team and Exhasut him.He gave you a free initiate.



I hat Janna's.A well played Janna can force an Alistar lane into passiveness because of her ability to disengage.If you try to Headbutt her she will use her tornado which will send you in the air for a long time(bug possibly).You should try Headbutting to a minion near the enemy carry and use Pulverize if you want to initiate.



Same aggresive playstyle as you.If she stuns you or your carry punt away the enemy carry and Pulverize Leona for a free escape for you and your carry.If she uses her ultimate on both you immediatly use your's and punt either the enemy carry or Leona away.



Haven't met many Namis but one thing is sure.Her bubble counters your initiation.Try to engage before she uses that.Even after that it will be hard to engage because of the MS buff.If you get an opening dont hesitate to engage.



Lulu is another annoying matchup for Alistar because of her ability to transform you into a squirrel when you want to engage.And she can disengage with her huge slow.Try using the same strategy as Janna if you want to engage on the carry.



Nunu shouldn't be a problem for you.He will try to play a passive lane but you must deny that.Engage on their carries and tell your carry to disengage if he has been snowballed.If you want to engage post-6 keep one CC with you so you can intrrerupt his ultimate.



On this matchup you should engage on Sona instead of the carry because she is very squishy.Care though of her power chords because they hurt.At level six if she uses her ultimate use yours immediatly and punt the carry away while Pulverizing Sona.



Soraka's force passive play.She can silence you if you want to engage and her burst heal is just too huge.If you want to do something to her lane call for a gank.After level 6 you should be able to engage because of your ultimate.



Outrageous.If he stuns you go CC their carry if you are in position, if not play passive.If he stuns your carry, punt him or his carry away.You should commit for a kill at level six because you can use your ultimate after he stuns you.



Only engage after he does that of misses his hook.One small thing that I noticed is that you can bodyblock the lantern so the enemy AD carry can't retreat back to safety and he will lose lots of time trying to click that lantern.





She has no escpae mechanism but she can kite you all day long if you don't play carefully.If she somehow initiates with her arrow and it happens to hit you, use your ultimate and counter-initiate.



In lane, Caitlyn is a f*cking bitch.Her kit makes zoning so easy for her.When you enter a brush you should think twice before entering it as it can have a trap and traps can set-up kills.If you get in position to do one of your combo's do so.In teamfights if you see a low HP teammate targeted by Caitlyn's ult you should do your best to get in front of him so you can interceptt the fatal shot.Be careful to not leave your carry alone while doing this.



His true damage from his passive hurts.The cool thing that you can do is to stop his mid-flight by using your Headbutt and Pulverize combo.Be careful of his rockets in lane as they deal tons of damage.



I don't have that much experince versing a Draven but from what I saw this champion is a MONSTER early game.If you ever want to go on him GO ALL IN.One neat trick you can do to reduce his damage output is to punt him out of position so he can't catch his axe.



Be careful of his Q poke as it deals quite some damage early on.He can run out of mana really fast if he spams his Q so take advantage of that and engage of him because his E costs a lot of mana.In teamfight there is one neat trick you can use that will scare him:while he casts his ultimate use you Headbutt to push him.This wont stop the channeling but he will be like "WTF" and he will start focusing you because you pushed him out of the fight.



Graves is a total bully in lane but he has a low auto attack range.Try to engage when his passive stacks are relatively low so he doesn't have lots of armor and magic resistance.A cool trick to make Graves mad is to use your Headbutt on your ultimate the exact moment he starts using his ultimate making it a complete miss.This will piss off him.



Her blind makes trading with your AD carry easier.Try to engage after she uses her Q and/or Vault so you can intercept the Q projectile and give your AD carry the advantage.At level 6 it becomes harder for you to chase her down because of Valor.If you wanna engage on her do a Flash engage so you are sure she will die.



Her spell shield is annoying.Try to bait her to use her shield by walking towards hher or using headbutt to a minion close to her.Also DO NOT USE YOUR COMBO ON HER WITH HER SPELLSHIELD ON thinking that you will get the knockup, her shield will negat both effects(the knockack and the knock up).If you want to do your combo on her use your Headbut and then wait until you see that her bubble has been popped AND THEN use your Headbutt.



Similar to Corki's W you can stop her Rocket Jump mid flight by using one of your CC.Do not fully commit on her at level 6 unless you are sure she doesn't have Flash and her Ultiamte up because you will use your summoner;s in vain.Take advantage of her weak midgame and FORCE OBJECTIVES as she doesn't have the damage she wants unless fed.



His harrass is broken early game but he starts to fall off lategame if he isn't fed.One neat trick you can do in teamfights is when he ults you, use your ultimate and walk behind your team.What happens?You will still be teleported but you are able to bring him further in your team and set up for you a free initiate.



His Q hurts if you don't have some minions between you.He doesn't have an escpae mechanism so abuse that by engaging on him as often as possible.Similar to Ashe if he uses his ultimate on you, use yours and counter initiate.



SHUT HER DOWN EARLY GAME.Late game Vayne is a monster.Her Sivler Bolts get through your ultiamte and she has a stun.Her early game is quite weak so abuse that by engaging on her as often as possible.When she gets level six you should carry a pink ward or an orcale with you so you can see her while she is stealthed.

After the laning phase is over you should gather and fight for Dragon and towers.Don't forget to buy wards and place them so you can reveal any attempts of the enemy team of doing an objective.

If you don't have an initiator in your team you should be the one who starts the fights by using Shurleyas into Flash and then Pulverzing the enemy team and Headbutting the enemy AP or AD carry(which one is dangerous) into your team.

Things you need to do mid game:

-keep track of dragon,baron,red and blue buff respawn time
-if the enemy support or jungler has oracles and tell your time to focus him in the next fight.
-countering wards

Below you can see how to counter wards:

• oracles elixer. This of course means you will need to actively seek out wards to make it worth your while, however knowing when a ward is nearby is a great advantage, it means you know that the enemy knows you are in that particular location, meaning you are that much less likely to get taken by surprise/ambushed. Killing a ward also frustrates enemies (especially the one who placed the ward) Facechecking bushes is another matter entirely.
• counterwarding. This means either taking preemptive measures to watch out for the enemy, or using vision wards (the purple wards that detect stealth) How does this work? When you suspect the enemy has a ward on an objective you want to meet such as killing the Dragon you either ward a chokepoint nearby where the enemy must pass through to get to you so you can escape before they arrive or countergank them, OR placing a vision ward in that very location. Vision wards allow you to see and kill nearby wards and stealthed characters, and has vision over the area for a short time too.

By now people try to fight for baron.One big mistake you shouldn't do when you don't have vision of baron(which you should have)is that people go bottom lane to clear to creep wave and that leaves the enemy team a chance to go for baron uncontested because it's a 4v5.Another one is that they go for Dragon and the enemy team goes for Baron while they clear Dragon and leave Baron uncontested.By now you should be looking for teamfights if you are the initiator, if not you should stay in the frontline or in the back line(in case you are the support) and protect the AD carry while your initiator does his job.If they have an AOE team comp you should avoid teamfigthing as they are need them desperatly.Instead you can splitpush or poke them until they are low enough for your team to fight.Also avoid getting caught warding/clearing camps because you give the enemy team a huge advantage which can lead in losing a game.As explained in the mid game section you should either:initiate if you don't have one or protect your carry if you have an initiator.By now your focus should be focusing the enemy AD carry as he deals the most damage at this stage of the game.If somehow some members of the enemy team are fed you should play defensvie and wait for them to throw the game.It doesn't matter how long the game goes you should wait in your base and capitalize on the enemy mistakes.

Usually you can fulfill two roles in late game teamfigths.



As the title says YOU will be initiating for your team.There are several ways of doing that:

With up:

When you have Flash up you should warn your team before engaging so they are ready for your epic play.You should use the active from Shurelya's to get in position to Flash and Pulverize the enemy team.After you've done that you should immediatly use the active from on you Exhaust the enemy AD carry and use Headbutt on him to push him/her/it in your team.After that you should be looking to protect your carry as you've dont your job initiating.

Without up:

So you have used your Flash for initiating a previous fight?No problem.I will show you how to initiate without Flash.Beware that this method of initiation is sligthly harder and if you fail the initiate the enemy team will have a chance of winning the teamfight.This method implies using the Shurelya's active to get in postion of using your Headbutt and Pulverize combo to get in the middle of the teamfight and the using the active from Shard of True Ice and Exhausting the enemy carry.After you've done that you should protect your carry.



So you have an initiator in your team?If yes you should protect your AD carry so he doesn't get wrecked off by that pesky .To do so you should stay with your AD carry peeling the enemy bruisers and allow your carry to kite.If you get CC'd dont be afraid to use your ultimate and the active's from Shurelya's and Shard of True Ice to get back in position to protect your carry.

Note:If a vital CC is used on you don't be afraid to use your ultimate to negate it and negate a lot of the enemy burst while your AD carry wrecks them.

Jungle Alistar:
http://www.mediafire.com/?hfa573u8dcjvkvc
Score:3/3/42
Total ownage.
http://www.mediafire.com/?y67tj3cjpu1dz6h
Score:8/0/9
I camped mid lane all game long and the enemy Morde raged in all chat like a boss.
-------------------------------------------
SEASON 3:
http://www.mediafire.com/?b1rup58sjk1dgg2
Just a normal jungle Alistar game.The enemy jungler rageuqitted, did a gank botlane and it snowballed, helped mid, did a good flash pulverize engage at the end.


Support Alistar:
http://www.mediafire.com/?jwii8binelk0wx8
Score:1/3/18
Basic support Alistar game.

August 07 2012:Guide released.
August 08 2012:Added explanations for masteries and item build choices and fixed some typo's.
August 11 2012:Added a new chapter:The ultimate jungle cow build for experminted players and added some replays.
August 13 2012:Revamped the Team Fights section and added some information to the Late Game section.Also updated my ranked stats.
August 14 2012:Revamped the Late Game section,switched the ganking routes map to remove the jungle creeps as it can be confusing.Added enemy supports to the Support Alistar section.
August 16 2012:Guide approved,fixed some typos in the Skill Order section,added "Enemy carries you will face in your lane" to the Support Alistar section.
August 20 2012:Fixed a typos in the Jungle Alistar Riven matchup,updated the Draven matchup in "Synergy with other carries" in the Support Alistar section.
September 1 2012:Added "Patch history" chapter.
September 10 2012:Added a new tip to the "Tips and Tricks" chapter.Changed the runes and updated the Runes section to match the new selections.
October 10 2012:Added Rengar and Kha'Zix to jungle matchups.Removed Zyra from jungle matchups.Updated Zin Zhao jungle matchup.
October 20 2012:Updated the title.Updated my stats(now I'm Gold tier).Addded one more sentence to the "Final Comments" chapter.
December 29 2012:Finally updated for Season three.Removed "Ultimate Junlge Cow" build.
January 1 2013:Added more items to "Situational items" on both Jungle and Support Alistar.
January 7 2013:Added Nami to support matchups.Will add soon an video with my jungling route.
January 16 2013:ALISTAR W BUFF.
January 18 2013:Added Season 3 Jungle Alistar replay.
January 29 2013:Guide reached 100k views.Thank you.
February 15 2013:Added Tresh to supports, added new tip to Tips and Tricks section and fixed some small mistakes in the teamfighting section, added "Checklist" section to the guide so you know what is to be added in the near future.
March 8 2013:Added Vi to the Jungle section.Added Quinn to the support section(Enemy carries you will face in lane).Removed the [S3] tag from the guide name.Removed the "work in progress" disclaimer at the top of the guide.
April 16 2013:Added Zac to the Jungle section.Added Quinn to the support section(Synergy with other carries).
May 19 2013:Fixed Mikael's Crucible not showing the icon in the main Item Build chapter.

1.Add videos to all the tips and tricks
2.Add images or videos to Alistar's abilities.
3.Add more support and jungle Alistar replays.
4.Create a video to show my jungle Alistar route.

Well this is it.I hope you enjoyed my guide.Alistar is the champion that helped me reach gold and I am very proud of that.If you want to ask some questions you can add me on EUNE:Uskelm.you can also find me on the "PlayWithRiot" and "Improving yourself" channels.Also if you have any suggestions or questions you can leave it into the comments section belowe and I'll try to answer as fast as I can.

Special thanks to Tiridus who featured my guide on his list of guides found at:

http://eune.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=429147

Also I would like to leave you a song which defines Alistar: