Alistar is one of the first champions ever added in League of Legends. And throughout the years, he’s been changed and redesigned for many different roles. At one time, Alistar was a standard top lane pick, then a jungler, and then a support.
But can you still play Alistar jungle in LoL?
In this post, I’ll go over everything you need to know about Alistar jungle in season 13 of League of Legends. This includes general knowledge, recommended runes and items build, and tips for winning as jungle Alistar.
So, without further ado, let’s begin!
Can Alistar Even Jungle?

Does Alistar jungle works? Is he a good pick for the role?
Alistar can be a good pocket-pick jungler in League of Legends. He doesn’t have the best damage output or the fastest clearing speed, but Alistar shines at ganking.
Alistar’s W+FQ combo is essentially a “mini Malphite ult” and he has it every 10 seconds.
If you take a look at Alistar’s stats in-game, you’ll see that he only has 3 damaging abilities – Q, W, and E. Although the base numbers and ratios on these abilities are okay, they’re definitely not too high.
And this is because Alistar is currently designed to be a support and not a jungler
So, if you’re looking for a jungler that does massive damage and one-shots enemies, Alistar is not it.
But that doesn’t mean that Alistar can’t do great damage as a jungler. In fact, he has more than enough damage to clear the jungle camps once he levels up a bit. And depending on your build, his combo can burst down a squishy enemy too.
The biggest weakness that Alistar has as a jungler is a slow start. His damage is really low early on and you need a big help from your bot lane to start things off.
But once you gain a few levels and your Smite becomes stronger, you’ll be fine on your own.
Additionally, if you focus on ganking and not farming, Alistar jungle can be really good. Your opponents are likely to tilt, so it’s possible to get some free LP too.
Now let’s jump into the actual jungle Alistar build and discuss which runes and items you should take!
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The Best Alistar Jungle Build for LoL Season 13
Jungle Alistar – Runes

Here are the best runes for playing Alistar jungle in season 13:
- Predator
- Sudden Impact
- Eyeball Collection
- Relentless Hunter
- Celerity
- Waterwalking
There are many keystones that work well on Alistar. And all of them change his playstyle a bit.
Aftershock is one of the strongest defensive options and you can take it if your team needs a tank. Electrocute is a great option for adding extra damage.
And Phase Rush is very useful because it grants you movement speed so you can always stun the enemy champion with your E.
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Items – Tank Alistar Jungle Build

Here are the best items for playing tank Alistar jungle in season 13:
- Frostfire Gauntlet
- Deadman’s Plate
- Thornmail
- Spirit Visage
- Force of Nature
- Mercury’s Treads
Depending on the situation, you can buy other tanky items here such as Abyssal Mask or Warmog’s Armor. Keep in mind that Turbo Chemtank also works well on Alistar but it isn’t a must if you play with Predator.
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Items – AP Alistar Jungle Build

And here are the best items for playing AP Alistar jungle in season 13:
- Night Harvester
- Lich Bane
- Nashor’s Tooth
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
The AP Alistar build is definitely more fun to play than the tank build. It will give you much more damage and allow you to one-shot the enemy carries.
Here, the best situational items are Banshee’s Veil, Morellonomicon, and Void Staff. But you can also play with Hextech Rocketbelt as a mythic item if you want more flare.
Read Also: Full AP Alistar Build Guide
Skill Order
As jungle Alistar, you’re always looking to max your Q first. It does the most AoE damage which will help you clear out jungle camps faster, especially in the early game.
The second is Ali’s W. This ability does the most amount of damage overall and has the highest AP ratio. But it’s only usable against a single enemy champion.
And your E should be maxed out third. This ability does decent damage, especially to jungle monsters. However, it’s not as good as the Q and W so it’s not a priority in any particular situation.
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How to Play Alistar Jungle?

How do you play jungle Alistar?
Alistar is one of the easiest champions you can play in the jungle. Aside from his W+Q combo, which you can master in a few minutes, he doesn’t require any more mechanics.
And so, here are all my tips for playing Alistar jungle successfully.
EARLY GAME. Start the game on the side on your bot lane is, no matter the buff. You’re going to need a hard leash since Ali’s damage is low at the beginning.
Get the green jungle pet, Mosstomper, and continue with the green smite.
GANKING. Make this priority! Farming is often useless on Alistar, especially if you’re going to build him like a tank. He’s never going to outfarm the enemy jungler, so it’s pointless to try.
Always try to gank from behind your enemy with your W and push them away from their turrets. Alternatively, you can gank with Alistar’s W+Q combo and knock them up.
You should also activate your E as soon as possible and follow the enemy champion for a final stun.
OBJECTIVES. Alistar can be pretty great at securing neutral objectives. For example, you can use his W to push away the enemy jungler and Smite the Baron or the Dragon.
LATE GAME. Team fights with Alistar are all about knocking up and stunning a single champion so your team can slay them. You have great tools for protecting your allies from enemy assassins.
And your ulti can help you fight the enemy backline for days.
Read Also: How to Gank as Kayn – Guide
Conclusion
Jungle Alistar isn’t as popular as it once was. Back in the earlier seasons of League of Legends, Alistar jungle was a terror to many champions.
He had overall more damage and his knock-up was notoriously strong for ganking. And this build will bring you as close to that ideal as possible!
I hope this guide helped you with learning and building jungle Alistar in season 13. Good luck and have fun!