Introduction:

In the world of League of Legends, the mid lane is typically dominated by mages and assassins. However, Alistar, the Minotaur, brings chaos to the mid lane as an unexpected contender. While primarily a support champion, Alistar's unique abilities make him a formidable force when played in the mid lane. This chapter explores why Alistar excels in dealing massive damage and why he is a surprising and viable choice for ambitious summoners.

Reasons to Pick Alistar Mid:

Incredible Burst Damage: Alistar can deal massive amounts of damage, often nearly one-shotting champions. With his W+Q combo and AP-heavy builds, he can unleash devastating damage on opponents, leaving them in awe of his explosive potential.

Early-Mid Game Dominance: Alistar thrives in the early-mid game, even without significant gold or items. His high base damage and crowd control abilities allow him to control the lane and impact the game's pace, making him a formidable presence.

Level 6 Power Spike: Alistar's level 6 brings a significant power spike with his ultimate ability, Unbreakable Will. This ability grants him bonus resistances and crowd control immunity, transforming him into an almost unkillable champion. With this advantage, Alistar can engage fights with confidence and survive even the toughest situations.

Impressive Roaming Potential: Alistar possesses excellent mobility and crowd control, making him an exceptional roamer. His ability to surprise opponents in other lanes, secure kills, and assist in securing objectives like dragons or heralds adds immense value to his team. Alistar's mere presence on the map creates pressure and forces the enemy team to adjust their strategies.

Gold Efficiency: Unlike many mid lane champions, Alistar does not heavily rely on gold and items to be effective. His core abilities remain impactful, even with a limited gold income. This reliability allows him to contribute to team fights, protect carries, and set up kills with his crowd control, making him valuable even in challenging situations.

Pros:

Devastating Burst Damage:
Alistar as a burst mage is no joke. His W+Q combo, combined with AP items, can obliterate squishy mid laners in an instant. It's so satisfying to see enemies disappear from the map with one powerful combo.

Surprise Factor:
Alistar mid catches opponents off guard. Mid lane is usually filled with mages and assassins, so when they face an Alistar, they underestimate his damage potential. Use this to your advantage and punish their overconfidence with unexpected bursts of damage.

Early-Mid Game Dominance:
Alistar's burst damage shines in the early-mid game, even without a fat wallet. His base damage is high, allowing him to dominate the mid lane and establish control. Crush your opponents early on and set yourself up for a victorious mid game.

Engage and Crowd Control:
Alistar's combo is not only for damage but also for engaging fights. Use your W to headbutt an enemy into your team, then follow up with Q to knock them up, leaving them vulnerable to your team's wrath. In team fights, unleash your crowd control abilities to disrupt the enemy team and turn the tides in your favor.

Roaming Threat:
Alistar's mobility and crowd control make him a roaming nightmare. Leave your mid lane post and roam to other lanes, catching unsuspecting enemies off guard. Securing kills and helping your teammates in other lanes will make you a force to be reckoned with.

Cons:

Vulnerability to Range and Poke:
Alistar's melee nature makes him an easy target for ranged mid laners. Champions with long-range abilities can poke you down and keep you at bay. Be careful and play safe against opponents who can harass you from a distance.

Combo Reliance:
Alistar's burst potential heavily relies on successfully executing his W+Q combo. Missing or mistiming it can be disastrous and leave you empty-handed in fights. Practice your combo execution to make sure you consistently deliver the devastating blows.

Mana Management:
Alistar's abilities have a hefty mana cost, especially in the early game. Mismanaging your mana pool can limit your ability to engage or escape crucial situations. Keep an eye on your mana bar and use your abilities wisely.

Farming Challenges:
Alistar's kit isn't optimized for efficient farming, especially under turret. Last-hitting minions can be a struggle, and you may fall behind in gold and experience compared to traditional mid laners. Focus on improving your farming skills and make the most out of every opportunity.

Team Composition Considerations:
Choosing Alistar mid requires thinking about your team composition. As a burst mage, ensure your team has enough damage sources and frontline presence. Without proper team synergy, your burst potential might not be fully utilized.

Remember, embracing Alistar as a burst mage in the mid lane offers exciting gameplay opportunities. While there are challenges to overcome, the satisfaction of obliterating opponents with your burst damage, catching them off guard, and making impactful roams is worth it. Unleash your power and show the mid lane who's boss!

KEYSTONE Electrocute: With this keystone, AP burst Alistar becomes a terrifying threat during the early to mid-game. He can surprise enemies with his devastating burst damage, catching them off guard and quickly eliminating priority targets. His ability to roam and create opportunities for his team becomes even more impactful with this keystone. MAJOR RUNE Sudden Impact: This major rune synergizes perfectly with AP burst Alistar's playstyle, enhancing his early to mid-game burst potential. It grants his abilities magic penetration, allowing him to cut through the enemy's defenses and deal significant damage with his combo. Alistar becomes a force to be reckoned with, punishing opponents who underestimate his power. MAJOR RUNE Eyeball Collection: Alistar's ability to collect eyeballs further amplifies his early to mid-game burst potential. As he accumulates eyeballs through takedowns, he gains additional ability power, making his burst damage even more fearsome. This allows him to assert dominance in the mid-lane and contribute significantly to skirmishes across the map. MAJOR RUNE Relentless Hunter: Alistar's early to mid-game roam potential is greatly enhanced by this major rune. It empowers him with increased movement speed out of combat, allowing him to swiftly move around the map and surprise opponents in other lanes. This enables him to set up plays, secure kills, and apply pressure across the map, making him a formidable force during the early stages of the game. MINOR RUNE Manaflow Band: Alistar benefits from the additional mana provided by this rune, ensuring his sustained presence in the early to mid-game. It allows him to cast his abilities more frequently during engagements and skirmishes, amplifying his burst potential and providing him with the resources needed to roam and impact other lanes. MINOR RUNE Transcendence: As the game progresses into the mid-game, Alistar gains bonus ability power through this minor rune, further enhancing his burst potential. It complements his early-game strength and ensures he remains a formidable threat throughout the mid-game, allowing him to excel in team fights and catch opponents off guard with his powerful engage and burst combo.

You can also instead Max W, its really personal Preference, although I bet if I did the testing W max is actually number wise better

Early-Mid Game Dominance: Alistar thrives in the early-mid game, even without significant gold or items. His high base damage and crowd control abilities allow him to control the lane and impact the game's pace, making him a formidable presence.

Laning Phase:
During the laning phase, AP Alistar focuses on surviving and trading effectively with the enemy mid laner. Although you might face challenges due to Alistar's melee nature, you can still make an impact with proper positioning and smart trading. You can Use E and then walk up and Q + W for easy trade that pushes your enemy mid away! Make sure to play safe early as you are quite squishy, just farm as much as you possibly can early to get some items like Sorc Shoes and Hextech Alternator!

Farming and Wave Clear: Use your abilities strategically to secure last hits and maintain lane control. Alistar's E (Trample) passive can help you deal additional damage to minions, aiding in wave clear. Additionally, consider using your Q (Pulverize) to disrupt enemy minions and secure important last hits.

Trading and Burst Damage: As an AP Alistar, your burst damage potential is your greatest asset. Look for opportunities to engage with your W (Headbutt) and follow up with Q (Pulverize) to unleash a devastating combo on the enemy mid laner. This can often catch them off guard and force them to retreat or burn summoner spells. You can also as I mentioned earlier Engage with E into Q+W away, usually have to do it early in the game, but sometimes people just let you walk into them XD

Roaming and Mid Game Impact:
AP Alistar's strength lies in his ability to roam and create plays across the map. Take advantage of your mobility and crowd control to impact other lanes and secure objectives.

Roaming Potential:
Push the wave and look for opportunities to roam to the top or bottom lane. Coordinate with your teammates and use your W+Q combo to engage and secure kills. Your presence alone can create pressure and give your team an advantage.

Objective Control:
Alistar's crowd control is invaluable when contesting objectives such as dragons, Rift Herald, or Baron Nashor. Use your abilities to peel for your team, disrupt the enemy team's attempts, or secure crucial objectives with a well-timed engage.

Team Fights:
Alistar's burst damage and crowd control make him a significant threat in team fights. Look for opportunities to engage on priority targets with your combo and disrupt the enemy team's positioning. Protect your carries with your ultimate, Unbreakable Will, and use your abilities to peel for them when necessary.

Remember, as AP Alistar, timing and coordination are crucial. Focus on farming efficiently, trading effectively, and making impactful roams to help your team gain an advantage. Your burst damage and crowd control can turn the tide of battles and set up victory for your team in the early to mid game.

Conclusion:
Alistar mid may not be the conventional choice for the mid lane, but his ability to unleash devastating damage, dominate the early-mid game, power spike at level 6, roam effectively, and remain gold efficient makes him a surprising and viable pick. By embracing Alistar's potential as a damage-dealing force, summoners can unleash chaos and destruction in the mid lane, making him a formidable opponent to face.

I used ChatGPT for a lot of this, its actually kinda cool to see the AI try to learn the code for it, and like mess up and then fix it, and since I don't really have the time to do all the code, it's actually so helpful on a time save (even tho i waste most of the time messing up prompts) I hope yall enjoy this, im gonna *try* to continue updating as the sesaons go, and *if* this stays viable!

Love Yall
Peace
-Huddah