This may be similiar to other Vlad builds, but this is how I play him and it works 9 out of 10 times. ALWAYS TRY TO GO MID. I believe that vlad is good at both laning or mid, but I think mid is much better. This is my first build so constructive critism is appreciated

I picked my runes to work around my early game so I can get a first blood in my respective lane. For marks i have magic pen. the 9 or so magic pen in the beginning can have your transfusion hit for that much more damage which will all add up when they are dead. For seals I have flat health. I'm not a huge fan of per level runes so I typically stay away from those. These seals add up to an extra 45 health, along with ruby crystal and Veteran's Scars i have 800 health at level 1. For glyphs, I use cooldown. Long story short, I like cooldowns :D Ability power quintessences give me some much needed ability power to start off the game. I will start the game with 800 health and 24 ability power at level one.

My masteries are pretty self-explanitory. 15% extra magic helps a lot since i have no magic pen items. I go defensively for the health and i believe that going into utility is a waist seeing as Vlad doesnt use mana.

I start off with a Ruby Crystal for some health. I like to stay in my lane until i can atleast afford spirit visage. I use the ruby crystal to make kindle gem which then turns into spirit visage. Cooldown boots are next. Again, i like cooldown :D with blue buff you will have a 1.8 sec transfusion which will hit for around 600 at end game. I get mejais soulstealer next. It is really easy to get stacks playing as Vlad, you get SOOO many assists. Rush Warmogs next, easy to get stacks for this aswell with all of the assists. Rylai's is a must on any Vlad build. Deathcap is next. if you have full stacks on mejais by now then deathcap should bring you up to around 680 ability power. If the game is still going on at this point then once you have 200 gold sell your spirit visage and get another Warmogs. With this full build I end with 6k+ health and 700+ ability power.

EARLY GAME Early game i usually will just last hit creeps with transfusion, unless the enemy champs are being very offensive then i will tranfuse them instead. Keep doing this until you get your ulti. IF the are being pushy and are at or lower than 50% halth then drop your ulti, transfuse, tides of blood, ignite, sanguine pool. after that your ulti should explode and do a decent amount of damage. Once you hit level 9 it makes farming and harrassing so much easier for you. If you didnt get a kill yet, now would be the time to do so.

Hemoplague > Tides of blood > Transfusion > Ignite > Sanguine Pool

If that doesnt do the trick then spam q on them all day. Tower dive if needed you should still have ghost and maybe sanguine pool.

MID GAME Vlad isn't the best mid game champ but he still pulls his weight for the team. Don't be stupid with his ultimate and use it on just one person. He has a GREAT ultimate wich will make your entire team do a lot of damage to the enemy, and if they dont finish them off, BOOOM! they are now dead. Just focus on last hitting minions and help your team in team fights. This is also when you should start trying to get assists and kills to start building up Mejai's stacks. Vlad can be a pretty good ganker, so if ganking is your play style then go for it.

END GAME Alright, this is when Vlad shines. By now you should atleast have up to Rylais by now, if not, thats fine. Don't let your team go into a team fight without you! You can turn the tides in any group fight with your ulti. When there are atleat 3 enemys within range of your ulti drop it on them and start spamming your ****. After I drop my utli i usually transfuse one person, tides of blood, then sit in a pool of blood after they focus you. When your ulti explodes they should either be dead or pretty close to it. You do need a good supporting cast to dominate with Vlad. Kat works GREAT with Vlad. I don't think i have ever lost a game with me playing Vlad and having a Katarina on my team.

Thanks for reading my build! This can be a pretty expensive build for Vlad, but it isnt that hard to make that5 much money with all the kills, assists, and creep kills you will get. This also might not be the BEST way to play Vlad but this is how I play him. It works for me so it can probably work for you. Please comment and tell me what you think!