What happened to Vladimir?

[quote=Asterul]Man, seriously what happened to him? I know he was nerfed but was he nerfed THAT BAD to the point where no one will play him. I haven't played with or against a Vladimir for several months now. You thoughts on [[Vladimir]]?[/quote]

[quote=Toshabi]He's good, there are just better choices out there now. Tis the life of cycled FoTM, his time is just not now.[/quote]

[quote=eeree]I see him quite often and he is still very strong. He used to be a strong AP carry but now there are plenty better picks (I think about Orianna, Brand, Annie). Of course they are not stronger (5 sec damage output is a lot higher on Vladimir), they are just fresher so people want to play them. They also have more CC (hard stuns mostly). Vladimir is still strong. Any nerfs he get didn't hurt him much. He is just not FoTM but he's still annoying and strong mid lane carry.[/quote]

[quote=Mooninites]He has some of the best sustain in the game, and is still strong through most points of the game. I don't know why people don't play him, he has great laning, nearly impossible to gank (with pool of blood), etc.[/quote]

[quote=Lugignaf]He's weak early. Pre-level 9, his sustain is terrible because of the cooldown on his Q.[/quote]

[quote=DuffTime]His damage isn't as good as Ryze's, he's not as tanky as Ryze, and a geared Ryze heals well enough to make Vlad obsolete. Vlad's ult is cool though and he can pool but Ryze DPS's so much harder imo.[/quote]

[quote=Lugignaf]Late game, he's more of utility/liability than anything else. A good ult can make or break a teamfight. He deals good AoE damage too. If he's out of position, troll-pool+Flash=he gets away most of the time.[/quote]

[quote=Crazy Smurf]Vlad is more of a Tanky DPS in a mage way rather just AP Carry. His sustainability is unmatcher after 9 and so he can turn the game in Mid Game. In late game as well, but you need to farm with him like crazy.[/quote]

[quote=IceCreamy]I agree, one should build [[Vladimir]] as hybrid tank/AP mage. He has spammable lifesteal in mid-late game, sexy ult and a great escape mechanism. I hate it every time I have to play against him... Perhaps he isn't that good in early game but he surely makes up for it later ;)[/quote]

[quote=wRAthoFVuLK]OMG LUGI IS GETTING BETTER What he said ^^ The current meta is all about early game; Vlad is shit early game. After 9 + Hextech though he is on par and even above some APs. But it's a pretty brutal life till then :/ I personally enjoy him and like him for some teams, but he is somewhat situational; IE if you are against a high tier AP like Brand and Cass, don't play him, you will get fucked hard. ^^[/quote]