League-of-legends – I always have trouble laning Veigar against Morgana, are there any tips or tricks that could help me with this lane

Alistar is a strong support, but for all his CC, he comes with a few weaknesses. He has to go all in when attacking the enemy; Headbutt (range of 650) puts him right onto the enemy champion’s range and Pulverize has a relatively small area of effect. Since Alistar’s only damage is melee, you can punish him when he approaches the AD or support by using ranged attacks/abilities. You can use these traits against him by warding the side bushes of the lane to stop him from getting into range for his Headbutt/Pulverize combo and by forcing him to use his Triumphant Roar by poking his health down. Poking is something Sona excels at, as Hymn of Valor (her Q, range of 700) plus Power Chord (her passive) allows for a surprising amount of damage at relatively low risk. If the bushes are warded, then you know where Alistar is and can keep him away from your AD carry with Q and passive poke.

Since their AD carry was Caitlyn, they have the advantage early game. Winning lanes is Caitlyn’s main strength, while Tristana is a complete monster late game (though she does have a really mean level 2 if she takes her Rocket Jump). Ideally, Tristana wants to get to mid/late game where her strengths shine. Playing near your tower and having thorough ward coverage is the ideal way of getting to late game without feeding the Caitlyn.

With Nocturne being their jungle and Alistar their support, the chance of a tower dive is pretty high. Alistar’s ultimate (Unbreakable Will. 50% damage reduction at rank 1) allows him to tank the tower damage really easily, and Nocturne’s ultimate (Paranoia) allows him to jump right to Sona or Tristana. You can have a better chance of seeing Nocturne’s ultimate coming by warding the tri-brush and near Dragon. Those wards cover the areas where his range covers bottom lane. The best way to avoid tower dives is to avoid Caitlyn’s Piltover Peacemakers (Q), and use Sona’s ultimate (Crescendo) defensively under the tower. By using Sona’s ultimate under the tower, you can quickly turn a gank into killing multiple enemies with the help of the tower.

Tristana and Sona win their lane by playing defensive and only engaging when they have the clear advantage from poking the enemy down. Even if they don’t win lane, if they can avoid feeding kills to the Caitlyn and stay relatively close on creeps slain (CS), then they come into mid/late game stronger.

It is very hard to create a solution to this problem 100% of the time, but there are some tips I can give.

1. For your scenario specifically if you find that you aren't able to farm to well then consider some mana regen seals so you can make better use of your abilities to last hit those minions.

2. Early laning is all about holding your tower over everything else. If you can't effectivley harass your oponent then don't. Let him come to you and ask for a gank. If the issue is that he is farming to well then he most likely pretty over-extended asking to be ganked. However, holding your tower in good standing and making sure you don't get underleveled are more important than harassing the enemy. You will have all game to outplay him, let him have his early game glory.

3. Consider who is going to be in what lane when you are chosing your lanes. A lot of champions can sustain better than Ryze against Brand, but in general Brand will always be a pain early game. Cait, Akali and even if you're feeling daring Morde in mid are good counters to Brands mid game.

4. Also instead of putting your focus in harassing Brand put your focus on avoiding his harassing. Last hit minions as best as you can and keep your movements frequent and sporadic. A lot of Brands moves are skillshots and are very easy to avoid.