Hello everyone, my name is Dragonzmaster3. I am a veteran mid lane player favoriting Vladimir, Morgana, Ezreal. (Though I do not play mid lane Ezreal). Please take your time to read my Guide, and if you decide to downvote it, please tell the reason behind this, so I can improve it! Thank you. There may be some errors with the ,'s and the .'s because i am not good at setting those. Enjoy:)

23/10/2012 - Once again, 3 downvotes without reason....

21/11/2012 - Just a little note that this guide is still being updated.

As for the runes, I take Ability Power Per level Runes because Vladimir is a good mid-late game champion, and he is bad in early game, but after level 6 he gets stronger, and at this point your Ability Power Per Level Runes will almost have beaten the flat Ability Power Runes. the flat Magic Resist Runes will help you out in the early game where Vladimir is weak, as you will usually be playing against AP Carries, reducing the amount of damage you take from their harass, allowing you to farm more easily. If you're less experienced with Vladimir, you should run more defensive flat runes so that you will survive the early game. Also, you may try Health Seals. flat armor seals is also a possibility against someone with a strong basic attack, as it will help you reduce the damage you take from them zoning you with their basic attack.

As for the Masteries I go 21/9/0. Summoner's Wrath will give you 5 Ability Power while on cooldown, and that could go a long way. But lets not forget about the 5 Attack Damage it gives, helping you with your farming. Butcher will help you with last-hitting as Vladimir has a very low Base Attack Damage. If you think you can handle yourself without this, put the points in Havoc . The rest of the points I put in offense tree will increase your damage, especially the 4% Cooldown Reduction from Sorcery, and the 10% Magic Penetration from Arcane Knowledge . As for the Defensive Tree, I put points in Magic Resistance because it helps you further with early harass. Combined with your Magic Resist Runes, this will really help you out. The Reason that I put a point in Hardiness is just because without it I cant go further up in the Defensive tree, and there is no other good place to put it. The points in Durability will benefit from your passive, Crimson Pact giving you more Ability Power, but it will also make you more tanky. The same counts for Veteran's Scars

Notes about the build

Before we move on to the items, i'd like to say that the pure strategy behind this build is to get as much Ability Power as possible. This is because Vladimir passive Crimson Pactgives him more Health for every Ability Power he has. Usually I have almost 3000 Health when I finish the Core Build, and the core build does not give you any form of Health. Therefore, all you should build on Vladimir is pure Ability Power, and of course some Boots.

Core Build

Hextech Revolver With this item, you'll NEVER have to leave your lane because of harassment: This item gives you SO much sustain, and on top of that it also gives you Ability Power. Must-have item.
Rabadon's Deathcap As I explained before, the strategy of the build is to get pure Ability Power, and the Rabadon's Deathcap does just that. It also increases all other bonus Ability Power from all other sources. Must-have item.
Abyssal Mask This item gives you more Ability Power,but the main reason that this item rules is because it reduces all nearby champion's magic resist by 20, which will greatly increase your damage output. On top of that, it also gives 57 Magic Resist.

Situational Items

You may want to consider buying this item if the enemy has a fed AD Carry, or just anyone who deals alot of Physical Damage.
In my opinion, this item does not really fit Vladimir. It is viable though, so if you think it's worth buying this item because of some reason, go for it!
If you think that even though Crimson Pact gives you alot of survivability you're dying too fast, consider buying this item. You may also buy this item if you need the slow.
If your enemies stack Magic Resist early on, consider buying this item as it gives you both health and Magic Penetration.
If you're in the late game and your enemies are stacking Magic Resist,this item can be considered. If you have a Haunting Guise at this point, sell it as it gets useless late game, and takes a inventory slot.
Well, if you're playing against noobs, you could consider buying this item, but do not buy it in more experienced games, as people will be smart enough not to feed this item.

WotA is a strong item on Vladimir, but usually you would have your support pick up this item. If he doesn't, and you don't need any of the above items, this is by far your best choice.

Note

I may have forgotten a item, if you find that a item is not there, please tell me in the comments.

Transfusion

This skill is your main source of damage. I choose to max this first because it is, as said before, your main source of damage. Maxing this first will also greatly reduce the cooldown of it. At level 1, Transfusion has a huge 8 second cooldown. This is the main reason that Vladimir is so weak in early game. Whereas if you would max either Sanguine pool or Tides of blood first, you would deal almost no damage at all.

Sanguine Pool And Tides Of Blood

I choose to balance the maxing of these skills, because you are in grave need of both of them. If you would max Sanguine pool first, you'd miss alot of your damage output in Teamfights, as that is exactly what Tides of Blood provides. However, if you would max Tides of Blood first, it would drain your health too quickly when attempting to stack it. And with the recent Tides of Blood nerf to Vladimir, it just takes too much of your health. Therefore, balance the maxing to these 2 spells.

The two main ways I go with Summoner Spells is either Ignite and Flash or Ignite and Ghost. You should take ignite in all the games you play. This is mostly just because of the current LoL Meta. Ghost works really well on Vladimir, as he should keep up with his target as he spams his Transfusion on them, this will almost always force them to use a Flash. However, if your target has some great mobility like Corki, do not activate Ghost unless you really think you can catch them.

Teleport is also a possibility, but don't use it to return to lane, as the distance to Middle lane from your base is not so far. Instead, use this to gank other lanes.

Heal is also a possibility, but it is not nearly as good as the other 4 summoner spells i listed.

Early Game

For the early game I recommend to play passively and just farm. Vladimir are very weak in the early game, and if you do not play carefully your opponent will take advantage of this. At this point your sustain is weak too. Vladimir is also weak in making a succesful gank, as he has no kinds of cc or gap closers.

Mid Game

At this point you should be fairly strong, harass your opponent with your Transfusion if your opponent drop downs to about 40% Health you should be able to finish him off with a Hemoplague Transfusion Ignite and Tides of Blood combo. Do not forget to farm though, as Vladimir needs alot of it.

Late Game

At this point you will be a huge threat in teamfights. When you engage in a teamfight, Hemoplague as many of the enemies as possible. Do not Hemoplague too late though, as you will want to take advantage of the 12% damage bonus it gives. You will be very tanky and resilient with your passive, Crimson Pact and your Sanguine Pool, so do not be afraid to lead the charge in the Teamfight. Make sure you harass the AP Carry and the AD Carry.

Your ultimate, Hemoplague is a extremely good ultimate. A Hemoplague that hits all 5 enemies will give over 50% damage bonus. However, Hemoplague can be good for a 1v1 too. A surprise attack with it from the brush is also deadly. If you see your opponent travel to a lane for a gank and see them return, wait for them in the brush and launch your Hemoplague and take them out! I cannot stress enough how important it is that you always use this FIRST to kill an enemy.

It is important to know when to Sanguine Pool and when not to Sanguine Pool. Judge the enemy's skillset: for example, if you were ganked by Morgana, save your pool till she uses her Dark Binding on you. or for example, if you were ganked by Ahri, wait till she uses her Charm on you. A wrong timed Sanguine Pool can mean your death. Also note that Sanguine Pool takes 20% of your health, so do not use it offensively, and do not use it at full HP unless its neccesary.

Ahri Difficulty: Easy-medium Avoid her Charm and her Orb of Deception. Ahri counters your Hemoplague combo with her ultimate, so do not try to kill her unless you can burst her down.

Akali will pretty be an even play against Vladimir in mid. Her high burst can be a bit dangerous for you early game, but playing more passive and using your range will help keep her at bay. You both have a stealth-like escape so both can get aggressive and back off. In truth, against her, just focus on your farm and you should be just fine.

Anivia Difficulty: Easy-medium Try to avoid her Flash Frost. If she misses it, immediately go to harass her. You can break up her combo with a good Sanguine Pool. Don't be fooled by her Rebirth, it can make you do stupid things.

Annie Difficulty: Medium-Hard Annie is a pain in the ***. she has a ridiculously long basic attack range that she can zone you with early game. Play very carefully or you will lose this lane. If you see her next spell is going to stun, try to dodge it with Sanguine Pool. I recommend that you do not engage in a 1v1 unless you have a clear advantage.

Brand Difficulty: Hard a good player will pick Brand against Vladimir. He can zone you with his long-range Pillar of Flame. You will most obviously lose this lane. If you manage not to die and get a decent farm, either he's a bad Brand or you played very well. All you can do is try to Juke his Pillar of Flame. If he does miss it, try to get some harass on him, but do not overextend through your minions, as you will leave yourself vulnerable to Sear.

Cassiopeia Difficulty: Medium-Hard Cassiopeia
has some ridiculous harass. With a good timed Sanguine Pool, you can dodge her ultimate. This requires really good timing though. Well, that's all I can say.

Diana Difficulty: Medium Just like you, Diana has a ridiculous early game. therefore you do not have to be as careful early game as you would have to against other laners. You can break her combo by Sanguine Pool when youre hit by Moonlight. This is not always a good idea though. Either way, this lane will be won by the most skilled player.

Fizz He has a a strong healing reduction effect, which will cripple your sustain. Also, he has a strong early game, I cannot stress enough how careful you should play against him early game.

Galio Difficulty: Hard Just like Brand, Galio can zone you with his Resolute Smite. His passive and naturally high Magic Resistmakes him extremely hard to kill. Bulwark is in my opinion a overpowered spell. It gives a ridiculous amount of Magic Resist and Armor.. You'll have to play this lane carefully to win.

Gragas Difficulty: Easy-Medium Gragas shouldn't be too much trouble for you. Stay away from your Caster minions, as that is usually his Barrel Roll target. harass him if you wish, but do not overextend, and remember to farm yourself.

LeBlanc Difficulty: Medium Try to break her combo with a well timed Sanguine Pool. You may have a hard time in the early game, as she will try to harass you down. be aware that you may have to leave this lane even though you have alot of sustain, due to her high burst damage.



Karthus Difficulty: Easy-Medium Karthus will usually play passive and try to farm. harass him if you wish, but as against Gragas, do not overextend. If you do engage in a 1v1, try to juke his Lay Waste to decrease his damage output. If you stay near your minions, Lay Waste will only deal half damage to you.

Morgana She can be annoying to play against in the early game due to her long range stun and pool, but Vladimir pushes her back with his life steal and spell vamp if you build it on her. Not to mention it makes it difficult for her to target a lot of her stuff on you since you can escape with your Sanguine Pool. That's a general answer: more specifically, Vladimir is a strong counter to Morgana

Malzahar Difficulty: Medium-Hard Malzahar has very strong harass with his Malefic Visions you will have a hard time in this lane. You may want to take Cleanse in order to counter his ultimate Nether Grasp.

Orianna Difficulty: Medium In the early game she will most likely try to harass you down, try to juke her skills, and if she misses Transfusion her. After you get your Hextech Revolver you shouldn't have too much difficulty in this lane.


Ryze Difficulty: Medium. Ryze will usually try to play aggresively: Take care of the early game. if he's harassing you, always remember to harass him back.

Swain Difficulty: Medium Try to dodge his disable by using Sanguine Pool. if he's harassing you with his Damage over time spell, use your Transfusion on him as he does so to harass him back. I do not recommend a direct 1v1 unless you have an advantage.

Xerath Difficulty: Easy-Medium Watch out for the early game, try to juke his Q+E combo, and then Transfusion him back. when you get your Hextech Revolver, you're welcome to try to 1v1 him, as you'll have a decent chance of winning.

Ziggs Difficulty: Easy-Medium. Dodge his bombs early game. and when you get stronger, you should be able to kill him. if he uses Mega Inferno Bomb on you, you can dodge it with a Sanguine Pool. This is critically important to win a fight.

Notes

Not all mid lane champions has been added yet, as it is hard to remember all the 100+ champions that can be in mid lane. I just took the most common ones. Credits for Morgana and Akali goes to ManOnFire, and the Fizz information goes to Mephy.

Thank you for reading my Vladimir guide. If you liked it, please upvote and comment, and give me suggestions! I'd love to answer you back., if you wish to talk to me, play with me, discuss with me, you can join my chat channel on EU/Nordic East. Name of the chat room is Dragonzmaster3. I will usually be there: The only times i'm not there is when i'm in school or sleeping. Though I am sometimes AFK, aka away from keyboard.