Greetings, Summoner :)

A bit about me :
Hello, my name is 'Vladarina' from EU West. I have been playing Vladimir for quite a long time and with consistency also. Why am I making this Guide? Honestly, I feel not enough people understand the potential of Vladimir, as he can stomp top with little / no assistance against almost all laners, and in addition his kit can carry games hard during team fights.

Now I'm not planning on making this guide too wordy, as I understand that players like it short and concise with as much information they can get.

Pros
+Extreme Damage throughout game, even at early stages
+More than 3,000 HP late game despite massive AP frequency
+Out-Harasses almost any top laner he will be matched against
+Able to burst squishy opponents, such as their ADC, to force them out of fights
+Unbelievable potential to get a Double Kill when ganked by the enemy jungler
+Itemization and masteries gives Vladimir 40% Cool Down Reduction at his 4th item.

Cons
-Lacks HP during early stages
-If behind, eg. 0/3, becomes extremely hard to come back with items at such expense
-No Teleport can make it difficult if being out-harassed
-No magic resist until 4th Item can cause issues in some circumstances

Vladimir's kit is extremely good when used correctly.

When some people try to play Vladimir, they will give up due to his "weak" kit and mechanic use. However, I am here to instantaneously contradict this, I guess, 'myth' of a statement.

When playing Vladimir, try to harass the enemy as much as possible, avoiding any counter harass that you possibly can. His E, Tides of Blood has an extremely powerful aspect to it, and that is it's stacking element. When stacked 4 times, you deal 200% increased damage on it, therefore you should always try to stack this ability where necessary. Once you have your Hextech Revolver, try to stay near as many minions, or the enemy champion, when stacking Tides of Blood. This means you can gain back the HP lost in addition for dealing damage and harassing the enemy laner, making it a WIN / WIN situation.

Another great thing about Vladimir's kit is his W, Sanguine Pool, or to some, his 'Troll Pool', hence how baiting an Ezreal ult whilst standing AFK at low HP just to dodge it using Sanguine Pool ;). What I find extremely useful about this ability is the aspect of diving enemies during the early game. If you have your enemy at about 350HP, engage with Transfusion, follow it up with Tides of Blood and then use Sanguine Pool and Ghost to get close to him and slow him. If needed, Ignite during Sanguine Pool and when you come out of it, use Transfusion and Tides of Blood to snag the kill, and also most likely escaping.

Personally, I believe these runes are the absolute best possible combination.
MARKS = Magic penetration combo's very well with ultimate, as increased damage is technically at a bonus due to additional damage.
SEALS = Health scales to additional AP with Vladimir's passive, Crimson Pact.
GLYPHS = Extra harass, scales with main abilities and AP scales to additional health with Vladimir's passive, Crimson Pact.
QUINTS = Huge bonus AP which grants insane harass at early levels for Vladimir.

max in Defense, due to its insane early game increase of HP, and also ties together well with your Seals.

Additionally at late game, they allow you 39% CDR (1% off MAX)

I understand, in some circumstances, that changing the item order to fit different match ups, for example against a harsh AD lane bully or a snowballing AP champion, however I don't feel it is necessary due to Vladimir's kit.

All reasons for items are explained in the Note's section of the item build. Feel free to read them in order to understand why I have chosen them and why you should too in order to win the top lane, and also win games, whilst playing Vladimir.

I find Vladimir shines throughout the early stages of the game, due to his great harassing techniques using Tides of Blood to poke and then using Transfusion to regain any HP lost from harass.

Try to push the enemy out of lane, as this can give you an advantage when it comes to the mid game. Also try to harass as much as possible, as this is Vladimir's key advantage when it comes to his kit. Harassing as much as possible will generally stop the enemy from farming effectively, denying them of gold.

When ganked early, use ghost if necessary and Sanguine Pool when they cast a CC ability, such as Rengar's Bola Strike or Nautilus' Dredge Line. This will usually allow you to escape the gank without losing HP, only to have used one Summoner Spell.

Push lane... Hard.

Now this is where things get interesting. When met with a 2v1 situation, either escape using Ghost and Sanguine Pool or fight. Fighting this situation isn't actually that bad of an idea, taking into account that they are hopefully not 2 hypercarries with hard CC and Shields. Engage using Q > E > Q combo then use W to deal small damage, whilst awaiting cooldowns. When you come back up, Q > E (+Ignite the necessary opponent) and use Zhonya's Hourglass. This will deal huge amounts of damage, and from here clean up what is necessary.

The combo above allows you to deal incredible amounts of damage without being inflicted at all. All slight damage dealt will be healed when using Transfusion, so you can out trade this situation with ease.

Not much to the Late Game really. Follow steps from 'Mid Game', however on larger amounts of opponents in a Team Fight with other players. Also, prioritize the squishy carry, extremely likely to be their ADC, and sit centralized with the enemy team. The combo needed is highlighted in Red below.

Engage using Q > E > Q combo then use W to deal small damage, whilst awaiting cooldowns. When you come back up, Q > E (+Ignite the necessary opponent) and use Zhonya's Hourglass.