User blog comment:LordMikal/Alistar Rework/@comment-24315274-20140112175829/@comment-5682246-20140112183108

If the mana cost on his Q/W is decreased, his combo will be very overwhelming. Think how it would be in an solo or duo lane. Alistar uses Q and W, and retreats (And his ability to go through minions makes him very difficult to stick on). Even if you manage to deal some damage, he would just heal it all. And he would do the same thing again and again because how spammish it would be. Either you get zoned, or risk getting killed. If we lower his base damage even further, the opposite will happen because of his high cooldowns, and we can't lower his cooldows because of the immense utility they bring to his team. The reason I halved the mana cost on successive casts of Triumphant Roar was to help him sustain in lane while still retaining his combo "Go-for-the-kill" style.