***09/01/11***

- Runes have been updated according to the last patches
- Item build has been uodated according to the last patches



***03/22/11***
- Exchanged Mejai's Soulstealer for Will of the Ancients because I tried it in several matches. And I got win - loose ratio of 9:1. So with this item you will be almost immortal in early game and mid-late game after you gained more HP.

- Exchanged Zhonya's Ring for Zhonya's Hourglass as ZR is not available any more.

Hello everyone,

I am playing Vladimir in exact the way I post it here and mostly doing pretty well.
Most of the games I come out with good stats. I use this for 3vs3 and 5vs5.

It is my first guide and I hope you will be patient ;)

*UPDATE* 03/19/2011
According to the respones from you I exchanged the second Rabadon's.

As I focus everything in this guide on AP and damage output, I also use the Runes whitch gives us a lot of MP and AP.

: I think this Rune is simply a must for any AP build. It gives us the needed MP in the early game and combined with the Void Staff it will destroy mostly any MR of our enemies.

: More AP from the Seals will also push your early game a lot. Especially with the MP Runes.

: Yes, again AP runes for even more damage output.

: Will penetrate the MR of your enemies pretty good incombination with the other runes.

I am playing with 11/0/19 masteries. That's because I do not really need the 15% summoner spell CDR. I more like the better Ignite and Flash.

As this guide is focused on AP and much damage, all Items have been chosen according to the AP they give and a little bit survivability which we need when pushing and nuking our enemies.

I always start with Amplifying Tome and a Health Potion. With these items I can stay in the mid lane until I am level 9 or more. With my first shopping recall I buy Boots and the Mejai's Soulstealer. I like this snowball item because I normally do not die often but kill a lot. So the stacks will grow pretty fast after level 6. I will explain later why.
Now I can stay some time in lane until I can buy the Sorcerer's Shoes and at least another Amplifying Tome. The next Item will be the Giant's Belt because normally in this phase of the match I will need some more HP to have more survivability when ganking top or bot lane. After that I will directly go for Rylai's Crystal Scepter. From now on, it depends on how much the Mejai's Soulstealer already stacked. If I already had some kills and some AP I first buy the Void Staff. If I need some more Ap I go for Rabadon's Deathcap first.
The last item is Zhonya's Ring. Normally in the late game I got something about 3000+ HP. Which I think is enough because you can evade many attacks by using your Sanguine Pool (even the Ulti of Karthus if timed right, which normally hurts a lot in the late game).

If your team seems to be pushed to much and you can not stack Mejai's Soulstealer, then you can excahnge it for Force of Nature or Warmog's Armor. (I like the HP boost from Warmog's)

After I got all 6 items I always use the rest Gold I receive for Elixir of Brilliance and Elixir of Fortitude

I usually play on mid lane as I think Vladimir is the perfect mid lane Champion. You have got high survivability and can stay in lane almost as long as you want to.

Level 1-6:
In the early game I only focus on last hitting minions with Transfusion. I do not waste my skills on enemies because of the high CD at the beginning of a match. I often get attacked by the enemies, especially by Ashe. But I simply heal myself with Transfusion so I do not really care.
Simply get as much last hits on minions as possible to get your gold. Which is really important.

Level 6-11:
In this period of the match Vladimir begins to make much fun. As soon as you hit level 6 and get your Ult Hemoplague your enemies will be less pushing or they will die. After I reach level 6 I start pushing mid lane and as soon as I am level 9 I definitely dominate mid lane.
As soon as I got my Ult Hemoplague I will let my enemy push. After he is near my tower or at least in the middle of the lane, I will use my Ult Hemoplague on him, Flash in, use Ignite + Transfusion + Tides of Blood and then the enemy should be dead. It works fine for me at least. This is the first stack on your Mejai's Soulstealer. Continu this whenever your Hemoplague and Ignite are ready. LAter will not need Ignite for this. But in the eraly game it pushs your damge pretty much and often finishs the enemy.

Level 11-18:
From now on, after I am dominating mid lane, I switch between top and bot lane to gank the enemies. And here the Mejai's Soulstealer stacks will explode if you do it right. Usually we ping a target and then focus him until he is dead. Mostly you will be alsmost immortal after you have got 3000+ HP. I group with my mates and just gank them down until we win. Pretty easy.

This is my method of playing Vladimir. I hope you enjoyed it and I would like to ask you for comments, criticism and tips of improving my gameplay.

Thank you very much for reading.

See you ingame!