This is a work in progress. It is currently incomplete but I will continue to update and publish as I go.

I love fighting other Vlads, because I always win. So sure, maybe my guide is similar to other Vlad build guides, but I have played about 1000 games now on LoL and half of them are played with Vlad. I wouldn't even dare to make a guide unless I knew a champion inside-out, and I am very confident to make a guide for Vlad, as I know exactly what to do in every situation. I'm not trying to sound big-headed, but I merely wish to point out the fact that when it comes to Vlad, I know exactly what I'm talking about, and afterall, you are viewing this to get some tips on how to build/play this champion, so you expect me to know exactly what I'm talking about, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a guide. ;)

Although I have titled this as "AUTOWIN" you will not be able to faceroll the keyboard and win. It does require common sense and experience to do well - same as any champion. But when played right, you really will shine, and more often than not, cause the enemy to surrender at 20.

Pros:

• Very Sturdy
• High consistent damage
• Tower diving capabilities
• High damage with ulti + ignite
• Ulti during team fights helps your team do ludicrous amounts of damage, and invokes the possibility for penta-kills
• Good harass
• Good poking during cold wars
• 20:1 odds of winning mid 1v1
• Can escape ganks and even come out of a gank with a kill

Cons:

• Absolutely dire at laning - Only ever go mid
• You can take solo lane only if the enemy is not too harassy (2 ranged, or mix of support/stuns/ranged)
• Assassin types will annihilate you unless you know how to counter them
• An intelligent opponent will focus you in team fights
• Highly vulnerable to silences - no health steal = dead vlad
• Vulnerable to ignite - you need that life steal!
• Very weak before level 9 (unless you have ulti + ignite available)
• No true burst - even the ulti is delayed
• Allies who don't understand how Vlad works, will chase a target to the ends of the earth to get that kill, even though they have 1 bar of hp with you having an ignite and your ulti on them; your teammates will die unnecessarily simply because you have walked away from the fight, knowing the enemy will die in a few seconds.

I have stated the 4 core build items. These are what you buy no matter what the enemy is or how well you are doing.

I start the game with an Amplifying Tome and a Health Potion. I later upgrade the Amplifying Tome to a Hextech Revolver, and then a Will of the Ancients.

As soon as I have 1100 gold, I port back and get Sorcerer's Shoes. These give you much needed speed and a nice damage increase. I have tried using Magic Pen Quints, Health Quints, and Ability Power Quints; I find I do the most damage when using Ability Power Quints, combined with Sorcerer's Shoes. When you come back from base with the boots and your book which you bought at the start, you will suddenly become a harassing daemon, and if the enemy isn't playing too safe, and/or doesn't also have upgraded boots, he will die. Repeatedly.

When I need to go back, and I have money, I spend it. Everything is useful to you; health and ability power retroactively increase the other, so spend your money and get 'ard! If you go back and you have a Will of the Ancients and you have your boots, and you have 860gold, get yourself a Blasting Wand....if on the other hand you only have 475 gold, get yourself a Health Crystal. The order in which you buy Rabadons Deathcap and Spirit Visage doesn't matter. You need them both so just buy parts of each when you can.



The other two item slots can be filled with anything based on what the enemy is and how well you are doing. If you need magic pen, get yourself a Void Staff. If you feel you could use more health, get yourself a Warmogs. If they are all AD, get yourself a Thornmail. Lots of magic? Get yourself a Force of Nature! I generally don't bother with a Banshee's Veil, simply because Force of Nature does a lot more for Vlad. If I feel I need to survive that bit longer to get some more damage off on the enemy to get that ace, I will get myself a Guardian Angel, so that when they do kill me, I can pop back up and finish them off. Abyssal Scepter and Quicksilver Sash (QSS) and Moonflair Spellblade are 3 other useful items to consider, but I dont ever get a QSS unless they have a good Malzahar who likes to focus me. More often than not, I get a Zhonya's Hourglass, but I have not included it in my core build, simply because if you are in one of those games where you never die, then what's the point? Get something else! I never bother with Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Only 1 of my attacks effects the passive on it, and I simply feel that other items have much more use than it - I have listed a fair few items here so there is a lot of choice to fill those 2 remaining slots, so I feel it's just a waste to get the Scepter if I'm not really benefitting from the passive.

If my enemy is something I really don't want to fight (remembering only to ever take mid) I will farm. I will farm lots, and pretty much ignore my enemy until I have farmed 1100 gold, gone back and bought my boots, then I would begin the harass.

So champions I don't like:

Malzahar
LeBlanc
Mordekaiser
Fiddlesticks (unless the player is bad)
Swain (simply cannot keep up with his early game damage) (This is the other champion I play when someone else demands to play mid, since you should NEVER lane with Vlad, he is horrendous at it. Swain can lane or mid - very flexible)

There are champions which you should be wary about. Test their mettle. Give them a dig now and then and see how it goes, if you feel you are doing better, then start getting aggressive with them. If you feel they came out better than you, get back to farming! (and don't be afraid to use your Q + E to last hit - just make sure you never use W to do anything other than survive.)

These include:

Karthus
Annie
Veigar
Anivia
Lee Sin




More often than not, I will use autoattacks to last hit minions, and my spells to harass, but like previously stated, if my enemies would obliterate me, even through just a little harass now and then, then focus on farming. I'd rather have 0-0-0 and a truck load of minion kills, than 0-2-0 and no minion kills, wouldn't you? ;)