“You can’t milk those” - Xaxus’ top lane Alistar
Riot·8/14/2014, 10:32:06 PM·0 votes·20,738 views
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Alistar outside of his pen. Even then, he was somewhat of a situational pick--and really only for bot lane.. However, with his recent buffs, we’ve been seeing him around the world coming out of the top lane - and with some very interesting builds.
Most recently, ROCCAT’s Xaxus took the cow out to graze in the northern section of the Rift. And you know what? It worked incredibly well.
Because Alistar doesn’t have to worry much about building tank items due to his ultimate, he gets to focus on one thing: Making sure he hits extremely hard. And because, typically, with any given trade, he’s only really guaranteed a single autoattack, he needs to make it count.
Alistar trades work like this. He dives in with Headbutt, which allows him to close the distance between him and his opponent before they can react.. By hitting Pulverize at just the right moment, he then knocks his opponent directly up into the air up into the air before they get out of the ability’s AoE range. Then, as they’re in the air, he punches them in the mouth. Then he runs away. Good trade, Alistar.
All three items have something to bring to that combination of moves. Trinity Force gives him some AP so the Headbutt and Pulverize hit harder, as well as giving him Spellblade procs to punch harder. Meanwhile, Statikk Shiv at full charge will lay down even more damage - some of it even AoE! If it helps him land a critical hit, all the better.
Oh, and Frozen Heart gives him some mana and cooldown reduction to allow him to make the combo happen more often. Plus, it provides a dash of extra tankiness.
Combined together, you get this Xaxus kill on MrRalleZ’s Tristana around 31 minutes. Take note of how much damage his first punch deals.
The cow in the room
Let’s get this out of the way: Alistar’s ultimate, Unbreakable Will, is ridiculous. At level 6, whenever R is pressed, he gains 70% damage reduction from all sources. Yes, everything. Essentially, he becomes a nigh-unkillable monstrosity. Take a look at this attempted gank on Xaxus. Mimer's Renekton and Impaler's Kha'Zix dive in on him simultaneously, one slowing and the other stunning. Suddenly, as they see how little damage they’re doing, they seem to think, “Oh, nevermind” and each go their merry way. The cow does not go down easily. Notice this: Xaxus hasn’t built a single defensive item. Just, like, what? What’s more, while Impaler wastes his time trying to bring down Alistar, Jankos and Overpow seize the opportunity to shove down middle turret. Even when Alistar doesn’t kill anything, he’s creating opportunities just by being alive.What’s up with that build?
Top Alistar has three core items: Trinity Force, Frozen Heart, and Statikk Shiv. Yes, those three items. Looks rather weird, no? Not a single other champion in the game will regularly be seen buying those three items in combination.
Because Alistar doesn’t have to worry much about building tank items due to his ultimate, he gets to focus on one thing: Making sure he hits extremely hard. And because, typically, with any given trade, he’s only really guaranteed a single autoattack, he needs to make it count.
Alistar trades work like this. He dives in with Headbutt, which allows him to close the distance between him and his opponent before they can react.. By hitting Pulverize at just the right moment, he then knocks his opponent directly up into the air up into the air before they get out of the ability’s AoE range. Then, as they’re in the air, he punches them in the mouth. Then he runs away. Good trade, Alistar.
All three items have something to bring to that combination of moves. Trinity Force gives him some AP so the Headbutt and Pulverize hit harder, as well as giving him Spellblade procs to punch harder. Meanwhile, Statikk Shiv at full charge will lay down even more damage - some of it even AoE! If it helps him land a critical hit, all the better.
Oh, and Frozen Heart gives him some mana and cooldown reduction to allow him to make the combo happen more often. Plus, it provides a dash of extra tankiness.
Combined together, you get this Xaxus kill on MrRalleZ’s Tristana around 31 minutes. Take note of how much damage his first punch deals.
