Matchup

Heavy CCStrong engageVery tanky

Build vs Alistar

Build adapted to this matchup

Starting items

Doran's Blade
Health Potion

Core build

Essence Reaver
1DPS
Spear of Shojin
2Bruiser
Rapid Firecannon
3DPS

Standard

Gluttonous Greaves
4
Infinity Edge
5DPS

Summoner spells

41250%
42150%

Anti AD

Plated Steelcaps
4vs AD
Guardian Angel
5vs AD

Anti AP

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC
Mercurial Scimitar
5vs AP

Anti Tank

Lord Dominik's Regards
5vs Tank

DPS

Infinity Edge
DPS
Endless Hunger
DPS
SorcerySorcery
Deathfire TouchDeathfire Touch
Nimbus CloakNimbus Cloak
CelerityCelerity
Gathering StormGathering Storm
InspirationInspiration
Magical FootwearMagical Footwear
Jack Of All TradesJack Of All Trades
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Early (0-15)
Mid (15-30)
Late (30+)
SmolderSmolder
AlistarAlistar
Careful
Careful
Aggressive

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