One of the earlier champions to be added to the game, Alistar is master at moving enemy champions around the field. He does this with two of his abilities: Pulverize and Headbutt which knock a player straight up into the air and send them flying away from Alistar respectively. This power to control makes him very valuable as a support and during team fights to neutralize certain players, allowing your team to focus on the high value targets first. Before you grab the bull by the horns, read through our list of tips compiled from countless hours with Alistar.

Closing the Gap

While his abilities are powerful they have a pretty short range. Make up for this limitation by grabbing summoner spells to make up for it like flash and/ or ghost. If you don't want to commit a summoner spell, try purchasing the Guardians Horn for a quick speed boost along with a health boost.

Play Aggressively

You don't have the ability to  charge for nothing. Alistars abilities and tankiness make him perfect for playing aggressively, which is even more important if you're playing against a poke champ. Take the fight to the enemy with a combination Head Butt/ Pulverize. If things get dicey you can throw on his ult and give yourself a heal with his 'E'.

Gank or Counter Gank

If you're winning the lane you should definitely think about heading to other lanes for a gank regularly. If the enemy has your team pushed close to your turret a good head butt can knock them right into the line of fire, while the pulverize keeps them there.

What makes him such a good ganker also makes him great at disrupting attempted enemy ganks. Send that would be ganker back to the jungle, keeping the fight fair or giving your team a chance to escape.

Partner Up With Ranged

Ali works great as a two man unit with a ranged champion. Between his Head Butt and Pulverize you've got the enemy incapacitated for a long enough time that your ranged carry can get off 2 - 4 auto attacks along with their abilities. A particularly deadly combo is Ali and Vayne, who deal out the damage and can knock back opponents from one turret to the next.

Head Butt Pulverize Combo

If you've ever watched a stream of a professional League player using Alistar than you've probably seen the 'E' 'Q' combo in action. The move combines the two into one fluid motion so that as soon as the head butt ends, instead of sending the enemy flying they immediately get knocked up in place by the pulverize.

While you can time pressing the buttons for it to work, one method folks have found to be more reliable is holding the 'Q' button immediately after the head butt animation begins. It will take some practice however, so take it to the custom matches to try against some bots!

Heal More

It can be easy to forget while playing this giant rampaging bull that you actually have a pretty effective heal that also heals up any nearby friendlies including minions. If you're playing as a support this is invaluable so be sure and keep your carry topped up at all times. Throwing in a heal around minions that the enemy carry is trying to last hit can also cause them to lose a few CS here and there which is always a bonus for the entire team.