Matchup

Heavy CCStrong engageVery tanky

Build vs Alistar

Build adapted to this matchup

Starting items

Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion

Core build

Liandry's Torment
1Mage tank
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
2Mage tank
Zhonya's Hourglass
3vs AD

Standard

Sorcerer's Shoes
4Magic pen
Shadowflame
5vs Tank

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Anti Tank

Shadowflame
5vs Tank
Bloodletter's Curse
vs Tank

DPS

Rabadon's Deathcap
Mage
Cosmic Drive
Mage tank

Other options

Morellonomicon
vs Heal

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Early (0-15)
Mid (15-30)
Late (30+)
BrandBrand
AlistarAlistar
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral

Alistar's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Triumphant Roar (P)

Alistar charges his roar by stunning or displacing enemy champions or when nearby enemies die. When fully charged he heals himself all nearby allied champions.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
314s14s12s
612s14s12s2m
910s13s12s2m
1110s12s12s1m40
1610s10s11s1m20
1810s10s10s1m20

Playing against Alistar

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

1

Respect his level 2 (W+Q): it's one of the strongest engages in the game at that point. Stay at range.

2

His WQ combo has a long cooldown (~14s) — punish him aggressively after he uses it.

3

Alistar is useless if his ADC isn't there to follow up — provoke engages when the enemy ADC is busy farming.

4

His R reduces damage but not CC — keep CC-ing him even during his ult.

Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 9, 2026