Alistar Counter: The Best Ways To Counter Alistar (2019 Edition)

Updated:

23 Mar 2019

This is a guide on how to counter Alistar and the champions Alistar is strong against.

“Mess with the bull and you get the horns!” Alistar is an aggressive, all-in, tank, that can engage and disrupt the enemy back line using his standard combo: W-Headbutt, Q-Pulverize, E-Trample, and R-Unbreakable Will. Knocking up enemy champions, stunning a priority target, and making yourself a very beefy cow. In this article we’ll/I’ll be going over how to abuse his tendencies in lane, his vulnerability without Unbreakable Will, and how to catch him over extended.

Alistar’s official page: https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/game-info/champions/alistar/

Champions That Counter Alistar

5. Brand

Brand, the burning vengence

Alistar is a fierce support in lane. He will want to try to kill you or your adc at level 2 or 3. There are 2 ways of stopping him, his level one is incredibly weak, all ranged supports can zone him off of cs for at least the first wave. As long as you know he can’t engage with his combo, then you should be auto-attacking non-stop.
Brand is a good counter to Alistar because of how predictable Alistar is. He will always begin walking towards you before he headbutts, so if you see this, simply back away. If he continues through the minion wave, your E Q stun will give you a winning trade and easy W hit.
If Alistar goes on your adc, Brand has enough damage in his kit to push the enemy adc off, winning the trade.

Alistar Counter Rating: 72/100

4. Nami

Nami, the tidecaller

As with all supports that are in a ranged melee matchup, make sure to bully Alistar level 1.
Nami is not as good for trading as Brand is, but her disengage allows her to stop Alistar’s advances effectively. When Alistar goes in, Q, to stop him from stunning, then W, to speed up and leave his melee range.
After 6, your ultimate also helps with slowing him down, allowing your team to position and get a better fight.

Alistar Counter Rating: 82/100

3. Zilean

Zilean, the chronokeeper

Zilean if very similar to Nami in the playstyle against Alistar, when Alistar goes in, stun him with you Q,W,Q. Then, depending on the situation, either slow him down or speed you or an ally up. This stops the Alistar in the same way the Nami does.
Zilean does have a much better ultimate though. Because Alistar usually only gets one person with his pulverize, whoever is caught out can just be revived using Zileans R.

Alistar Counter Rating: 85/100

2. Janna

Janna, the storm’s eye

Janna’s lane against Alistar is probably the most difficult to play, but if executed properly, it can completely shut down Alistar’s goals.
As mentioned before, Alistar is very predictable in lane, as he will generally walk straight towards you before headbutting. So the moment you see him begin to charge, double tap Q. This knocks him out of the charge, making him waste his W, and making his Q and E useless.
Janna’s R also works great in deflecting an Alistar from your team.

Alistar Counter Rating 92/100

1. Morgana

Morgana, the fallen

When playing Alistar against a Morgana, your Q and E keys on your keyboard are effectively removed.
A Morgana that maxs her E first will guarantee that Alistar will never have a moment of freedom.
Morgana’s E completely blocks Alistars Q and E, and her root is a big thorn in his side.
The usual scenario goes like this: Alistar goes in with his combo, you E, and Q. You are now able to freely walk away while he is stuck in your binding. When he gets R to break your root, your R will stop him once again.

Alistar Counter Rating 98/100

Champions That Alistar Counters

5. Fiddlesticks

Fiddlesticks, the harbinger of doom

While Fiddlesticks is ranged and his Q is very effective, later in the game he is shutdown by Alistar.
The main reasons to pick Fiddle support are for poke, and his Ultimate. Alistar's passive and relic shield do a great job of preventing that. And when Fiddlesticks Rs into the team fight, just headbutt him away.

4. Leona

Leona, the radiant dawn

Leona is a very similar champion to Alistar, except that Alistar can also disengage.
As Leona begins to attack you or your adc, use your W to reposition her wherever is best. Sometimes, close to turret, you can get a free summoner spell out of her by headbutting her forward, instead of backwards.

3. Pyke

Pyke, the bloodharbor ripper

Pyke is another champion similar to Alistar, but once again, he is shutdown by Alistars disengage
Pyke’s all-ins usually require him to land his stun, but with Alistar, your heabutt can knock him away, forcing him to miss.
Pyke is also very squishy, and prone to being one-shot. Later in the game, if you are able to get you combo off on him, he can sometimes die before he hits to ground.

2. Rakan

Rakan, the charmer

Rakan’s champion plays out in exactly one way. Jump in, knockup, charm, jump out. By effectively using your W, you can disrupt his combo. If he does manage to get his charm on you, your ultimate will keep you safe.
In the laning phase, both supports like to go in, so bait Rakan into engaging. Afterwards, knock him as fat away from his laner, stranding him and disabling his dash.

1.Tahm Kench

Tahm Kench, the river king

Tahm Kench has always been played for his W. The ability to save your adc from any danger is amazing. But Alistar is one of the few champions that can shut this down
When Tahm eats his buddy, he is guaranteeing you knock up two people. Only increasing the effectiveness of Alistar.
For an even better play, Flash Q, then knock the Tahm into your team. Forcing him to carry his teammate with him.

How To Outsmart An Alistar Player:

Alistar’s key weakness is that he is an all-in champion. His standard combo has a very long cooldown, making him vulnerable during this time. He is also weak to multiple slows, as he can only block one with his ult. When he goes on the offensive, he has no defensive tools for his adc.
If you want to kill a Alistar you’ll have to catch him when he goes in. Alistar has a wide array of uses for his abilities, so once he uses them, they’re gone for a while. Simply wait until he uses his combo to engage, then either disengage to get the proper fight, where he has no abilities left, or keep him in the fight long enough to burn through it.
Alistar is easily killed if he misses his Q timing with his W. Using a ranged advantage against him is easy after his misses his Q. He will have knocked you a safe distance away from all his abilities and will most likely have to use a summoner spell or ultimate to survive in a team fight.

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