Alumina-magnesia-carbon (AMC) bricks are essential in steelmaking due to their exceptional resistance to thermal, mechanical, and chemical stresses. This study investigated the impact of different alumina sources, particle size distributions, and raw material modifications on AMC brick performance, focusing on optimizing their use in the ladle bottom impact zone. Results demonstrate that replacing white fused alumina (WFA) with tabular alumina significantly improves the brick's cold-crushing strength (CCS) after coking due to increased spinel formation. While WFA offers superior initial strength, the enhanced reactivity of tabular alumina results in superior hot CCS and overall high-temperature performance. This study further explored the coking behavior of AMC bricks under different conditions, revealing the importance of considering potential chemical interactions when selecting materials. These findings highlight the potential of alternative alumina sources like tabular alumina in AMC bricks to enhance performance in the demanding ladle bottom impact zone, offering valuable insights for refractory material design and optimization in steelmaking. Notably, the CCS of the reference brick decreased after coking, while an alternative recipe using tabular alumina demonstrated increased CCS after coking.