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.