New site

Let me be the first to announce that EUPiLoL is now running on my own website.

yay!

this means that I won't be posting here anymore. All of the old posts have been moved to that site, and I will continue posting my new ones there.

Here's the link :) www.alyzar.com

EUPiLoL#16 - Old School Alistar (In Dominion) The Creep Master

YEAH NIGGUH

Alistar is an absolute beast in Dominion, and anyone who thinks otherwise isn't playing him right. The play style that I've adopted reminds me of how he used to be played. Sheer tankiness. This didn't work very well in Summoner's Rift because there wasn't much reason to target Alistar, but unmovable objects take on a whole new dimension when it comes to Dominion. Rather than relying on AP (which is what I've seen) I focus on an extremely tanky Alistar with huge amounts of sustainability. I go bottom lane, and forcefully push it with promoted minions. The sheer mix of tankiness and regeneration makes it impossible for most players to face you down in a 1v1 situation, and constant use of your heal means that while you stomp through their minions, you will amass an army for yourself.

His early game potency is about using that army to manhandle anyone who dares strike your beefy exterior. Slowly, yet surely, you push to their bot tower (and often gain control of it through minions alone). This forces the enemies to react. You aren't a pushover by any means. If you make it to their cap point, and claim it as yours, it will take at least three of your enemies to push you off of it, and even then it will take quite a bit of time (Even more so if you have some sort of damage dealer by your side). Alistar is one of the best bot pushers because he is less of a distraction and more of a glaring problem that needs addressing immediately unless you want the enemy team to have a permanent residence at your bottom point. His sheer tankiness and sustainability, as well as the focus in his heal allows for very early pushing capabilities that few other characters are capable of.

As Alistar, I end games as #1 on the scoreboard as a bot pusher and my score is usually under 900 because of how quickly the game ends. If you want to kick it old school, and be a bad ass while doing so, read onward.

Strengths

Early game Sustainability

Unmovable object

Can arguably push almost any character out of bottom lane 1v1

Extremely difficult to deal with

You feel like a badass while doing it

You don't feel useless in a fight

Arguably the most fun character to go bot with

Can beat just about anyone 1v1 in the early game if you use your creep army properly

The ability to use defense offensively

Weaknesses

You are at bot most of the game, so your team can easily lose top if they are terrible
Lacks much damage (But you can use creeps and cap points as your main source of damage)
Lacks much mobility
Must use Promote and Garrison as spells (No exhaust, flash, ghost, etc)
Mana intensive (Even with the added regeneration from Dominion)
Somewhat team reliant on getting kills and overall winning.
You can get a huge lead as Alistar, but it can be difficult to seal the deal on your own if your team sucks.
Reliant on your team to take advantage of the fact that 3-5 people are trying to pull you off bottom.

WUT

Itemizing

My item choices might seem a tad silly to you at first, but it is simply something that you have to try for yourself so that you can understand exactly what I'm getting at.

Core build (In this order)

Elesia's Miracle - "OMFG YOU ALREADY HAVE MANA REGENERATION WTF YOU ARE SO STUPID AHHHH AHHH AHH" Probably going to hear a lot of that. The thing about Alistar in bot is that you are reliant on your creeps for your early game potency. As a result of that, their creeps are dying very quickly and you are spamming the shit out of your heal. That's just how it is. Your mana will drain extremely quickly as you push onward. This also gives you the ability to trade blows with just about anyone and come out on top, especially if you let them attack you and then headbutt them into your creep army.


TL;DR

- You need the mana regeneration
- The health regeneration allows you to trade blows and win
- Tenacity is fuckin' awesome


Boots of Mobility / Boots of Lucidity - This is up to you. I prefer BoM so I can move quickly around the map, but I know some people like the CDR boots for the early spammability. It's really user preference.

Past that, everything is situational. Here is a list of situations you might find yourself in and what items to get to accommodate yourself.


Auto attacker / AD galore - Frozen Heart into Thornmail if you need it


This is pretty much best case scenario. Frozen heart is fucking amazing on Alistar. It gives you essentially everything you need and Thornmail seals the deal by offering you some damage so they have little choice but to run away. If you get these two items and are facing an AD team, there is VERY little they can do to push you off of their cap point, ESPECIALLY if you have garrison

Magic damage Galore / AP Galore - Force of Nature into Spirit Visage into Odyn's Veil

It's no secret that CDR is very important on Alistar but unfortunately there aren't many options to choose from that offer both CDR and MR. This is what I've found to be the best setup vs a heavy AP team. Extra sustainability, increased heal, some CDR, and some offensive potency.


Mixed damage - Glacial Shroud into Spirit Visage into Frozen heart into Odyn's Veil / Aegis


This is essentially the best of both worlds, and nets you a sexy amount of both MR and armor without gimping your CDR. Getting an Odyn's or an Aegis is entirely up to you and depends on your preference. I prefer Odyn's 9/10 times.

The enemy team is terrible and can't hurt me - Deathfire Grasp into Morello's into Deathcap


Max out your CDR, get a shitload of AP, and wreck face. Enough said.

Spells

Garrison and Promote are necessary here for obvious reasons.

Masteries

0/9/21 or 9/0/21. I wouldn't suggest going 21 in defense since you are already going to be extremely tanky and 21 in offense is silly on Alistar for obvious reasons.

Runes 

AP runes are nice, in my opinion. CDR runes are a bit redundant as you will probably get to 40% in most cases anyway. Magic penetration is also nice.

Skilling Order

My skilling order for Alistar is somewhat unorthodox, although very important to his success. I go 2 into Triumphant roar and 1 into headbutt at level 3, taking my first point in Pulverize at level 4. I then proceed to max them out in this order

Triumphant Roar > Headbutt > Pulverize

Maxing out triumphant roar early on is very important for keeping your creep army alive and adds nicely to your sustainability. You'll find that you don't need to do that much damage if you manage your creep army properly and your heals + your miracle means that you can trade blows and come out on top almost every time. 

General tips

- Headbutt and then immediately pulverizing will allow you to land your full combo the most efficiently. Although it can be a bit difficult to pull off for newer Alistar players, it is essential that you learn how to combo your headbutt and pulverize properly if you want to dominate as him.

- If your opponent is being aggressive, get them to attack you near your creeps. Once they target him, pulverize him and headbutt him into a wall or into your creeps. Heal, and run circles around him or auto attack while your creeps do the rest.

- Try to use promote as soon as possible so you can get the most out of it. There is no reason to wait. Use it on the first creep that you can so you can push their bottom as fast as possible

- Use hit and run tactics if your opponent out damages you. Even if they do, you will out regenerate them, and eventually be able to overcome just about anyone. Don't commit to a fight unless you know you will win. What you lack in damage and early tankiness, you make up for in creeps and regeneration.

- Only use garrison if your opponents have committed to the fight under your cap point.

- Pick up the health packs as much as possible. Don't let your opponent get them if possible, but don't die for the sole purpose of picking up a health pack.

- Keep tabs on where your enemies are on the map. Just because it's Dominion, doesn't mean map awareness isn't important. If a bunch of them are top, push bot as hard as you can and MAKE them pay attention to you.

- Try to get as many of your wounded creeps as possible within range of your heal. Remember that the CDR is lowered for every creep that dies around you.

- Don't be afraid to spam your spells. Your miracle is more than enough to keep your mana replenished.

EUPiLoL#15 - AP Shaco in Dominion

I'm aware that AP Shaco isn't necessarily unorthodox, but I wanted to do a post about him, so deal with it. I'd like to say that I'm extremely well versed in Shaco. He was my favorite character to play back when Sunfire Shaco was around, and I am one of the (unfortunately few) players who can actually jungle with him without dying in the first minute. I have always liked AP Shaco,  but he and his play style have some pretty huge flaws that stopped him from dominating summoner's rift.

- Lacked any sort of farming capabilities whilst simultaneously being item dependent

- Required that he spend long periods of time getting no experience

- Pitiful early game

- Assassination focused on a team fight oriented map.

As you can see, every single one of these issues is rectified in Dominion, and on top of that, the directions that players can go are simplified (seeing as there are only so many routes you can take through The Crystal Scar's jungle). Because of this, on top of his amazing ability to not only defend cap points, but also assassinate people in the way that can truly invoke fear within your enemies, as well as annoy the living piss out of them. I know I usually jump into items after my introduction, but I would like to discuss the role of AP Shaco.

His role is, simply put, to annoy the living shit out of your enemies. To truly utilize the psychological torment that Shaco is capable of, you must enter the mindset of a sociopath that is both psychopathic and slippery. In my opinion, AP Shaco requires the most cunning out of every other champion in the game. I can't possibly get into every little thing that will make you into a good Shaco because it would consist of thousands of words and probably at least forty images.. Instead, I will give you the tools necessary to become a sociopath yourself.

Strengths

Amazing ganking potential
Can easily defend top on his own (Unless 3-5 people bum rush it, in which case your team can just pick up two cap points to compensate)
1v1 Potential
Can escape most situations
Can trick people with his clone
Can beat any character 1v1 in the right circumstances
Health / speed buff control
Map control
Extremely high burst potential
Can deceive over many obstacles
Can use JITB to stall approaching enemies whilst you cap a point
Split-Capping capabilities

High end base movement speed

Can use his ultimate to dodge spells

Snowballs very well

High skill cap

Weaknesses

Due to the complexity of his kit, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and lose your cool

Difficult to learn, Difficult to master

Reliant on JITB for damage

Lacks the blatant offensive capabilities of AD Shaco due to said JITB reliance

Very squishy

If you don't have micromanagement skills, his ultimate can go to waste

Deceive loses potency due to lack of AD
Hextech Sweeper will ruin your life.
The classic deceive + Hit + JITB + Shiv might not always work if they are smart enough to AoE your box away (With characters like xin zhao or renekton)

 

Itemizing

Starting Items

When going AP Shaco, you have three basic choices that I see as viable..

Fiendish Codex - This item offers the best offensive capabilities while giving up speed entirely. You will be forced to use ghost if you want to make it top quickly enough to be of any use. This is the choice that I prefer.

Prospector's Ring + Boots of Speed - This is what I would suggest that new AP Shaco players go. It offers you some survivability, some AP, some mana regen, and enough speed so you aren't slow as fuck. 

Boots of Mobility - I wouldn't suggest this unless you are forced to cap your mid turret for your team.

Core (In that order)

Boots of Mobility -  Mobility is key, and for Shaco, this is no exception. No brainer.

Deathfire Grasp - This is the another no brainer. The active adds a layer of potency to your burst potential and CDR is extremely important on Shaco.

Rabadon's Deathcap - I've seen some players opt for the evil tome before Deathcap, but I feel like rushing the deathcap truly makes you a force to be reckoned with. In this case, CDR can wait it's turn behind pure, unadulterated damage.

Morello's Evil Tome - We get Morello's so you can finish up your CDR while still maintaining a steady AP flow

Lich Bane - Lich Bane is the cherry on top of all of your damaging capabilities. The magic resistance is nice, and the mobility is useful in Dominion. Get it.

Luxury Items

Here are a couple of different luxury choices you can get and why you might want to get them. 

Zhonya's Hourglass  - The highest possible AP increase other than Deathcap. The active is also nice, and the armor doesn't go unnoticed if you need it. I usually get this item if I don't find myself particularly needing anything, or if I need a bit of armor

Rylai's Crystal Scepter - Personally, I don't much care for this item on Shaco, but it is a good item for giving yourself general survivability without sacrificing your AP flow. 

Abyssal Scepter - MR is a great item if you need some magic resistance and don't want to sacrifice your AP

Force of Nature - If you are in serious need of magic resistance.

Guardian Angel / Thornmail - Two extreme choices if you are in need of survivability. 

Priscilla's Blessing - If you find yourself side capping a lot.

Spells

I've settled upon Exhaust/Ghost for my personal repertoire. Exhaust is very potent in Dominion, and ghost is simply mandatory. Garrison, flash, and ignite can all be useful, I just simply find Exhaust/Ghost to be the best possible combination for me.

Masteries

No brainer. 9/0/21

Runes

I find myself using Pure AP runes or magic penetration runes. CDR isn't very useful because you end up maxing it out anyway. 

Skilling Order

This is another no brainer. One level in each of your skills at level 3, and then Jack in the box > Shiv > Deceive

General Tips 

- Placing 3-5 JITB at choke points can usually land you a kill if you keep an eye on it and remain close enough to deceive+DFG+Shiv.

- Going for one of the mid turrets and placing 3-5 JITB  at the health shrines south of them can usually land you a kill

- Try to keep minions off of the cap points that you have boxed up. They are the bane of your boxes

- Rather than going back, try to utilize health shrines as much as possible. If you are consistent about it, you'd be surprised at how little you need to go back.

- Once you have lichbane, deceive becomes all the more useful.

- Remember that your shiv does 20% bonus damage from behind

- You can try to place multiple JITB at the entrance of your enemies' spawn point if you want to stall them. I've landed a kill a couple times in doing it and it can prove very annoying to your enemies.

- When running away, place your JITB in front of you rather than behind you so it has time to charge up and whoever is chasing you doesn't simply kill it / run past it

- Remember to use your clone. The nuke that it has can prove very effective.

- Deceive -> Hit once -> JITB -> Shiv or Exhaust -> Exhaust or Shiv is your optimal combo. You want to keep them slowed long enough for the JITB to proc and fear them.

- Placing JITB(s) on speed / health shrines can yield useful results.