Build Guide by JnrD

Introduction

This is a work in progress.
To do list:

-Add Pros and Cons section
-Mid- and Late Game sections
-Skill Info section
-More Tips and Tricks
-A tutorial video
Updated: 8.05.2011

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Hello there. This is my first written build/guide. Constructive criticism is welcome. =) Please try the build before voting. Thanks!
Aanyway. I've heard a lot of "Vlad sucks", "Vlad was nerfed to hell" etc. lately, and I can't understand why people think that. Now I don't know what kind of Vlad "The Pentakill" he has been, but in my opinion the current Vladimir is a very capable champion.
In this build I'm focusing in early game dominance. That means denying your opponent from exp and gold by constant Transfusion harrassment, and if they hang around for too long, a kill at lvl 7. To make this possible, we need two things:
1. Boots of Speed as a starting item. (more about this in the items section)
2. Cooldown reduction. And since we started on this path, max cdr in mid/late game.

Summoner Spells

Ignite Alright. This is the best summoner spell for Vladimir. With this, you are almost guaranteed a kill once you hit level 7. Your ultimate causes ignite to deal 14% more damage. It's a crucial part in your killing combo early game.
Ghost This will help you gtfo when that dark scary cloud of gank tries to devour you. Ghost + W and you're free!
Flash Is another good option if you have something against Ghost. :C

Masteries

For maximum cooldown reduction. With Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction you'll have 14% cdr at level 1. This means your transfusion is available for use 14% faster. 14% faster healing, harrass and last hits. Also having your Ghost and Ignite available 15% sooner is a big plus. Those things have such long cooldowns. :C

Runes

9x Greater Mark of Insight Vladimir's all abilities do magic damage, so this is kind of an obvious choice.
9x Greater Seal of Force Seals are the most diverse rune for Vladimir. You could go hp, hp/level, hp regen, flat ap and so on, but I chose ap/lvl for that little extra damage late game.
8x Greater Glyph of Focus 1x Greater Glyph of Celerity For the way I play Vladimir, these are a must. I've tried with ap glyphs but they just won't cut it like these little buttons do. With 9/0/21 masteries, you will have 14.29% cooldown reduction at level 1. At level 16 with Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Elixir of Brilliance you will hit 40% cdr. And that's some serious business.
Greater Quintessence of Swiftness Movement speed to boost up the annoying factor. :b Other good options are flat hp, magic penetration or flat ap.

Items

Boots of Speed Now I guess this takes some explaining to some. Why take boots when you could take Amplifying Tome? As explained before, this build focuses on dominating from level 1. With 9/0/21 masteries and boots you will have 371 movement speed. This helps a lot with early game harrassing. Getting in and out of Transfusion range fast is what makes you very annoying to lane against. Movement speed also helps you escape ganks, dodge skillshots, catch runners and so on. Plus you can also grab 3 Health Potions and this will ensure you can stay on lane pretty much as long as you want.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity These are the best boots for Vladimir in this case. 15% less cooldowns to hinder your fluid removal power.
Hextech Revolver Your first ability power source. Also boosts your healing by ridiculous amounts. 20% returned from Transfusion damage, Tides of Blood health cost (sort of) reduced, extra healing from Sanguine Pool. Yes please.
Rabadon's Deathcap Vladimir needs ap. Almost as much as his morning cereal. This item gives lots, and boosts other ap sources by 30%. This makes your abilities do silly damage. Plus it's a cool looking hat.
Will of the Ancients See Hextech Revolver above.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter This item works so well on Vladimir. Instead of getting that 80 ap and 500 hp, you get 92.5 ap and 644 hp due to his passive Crimson Pact. But that's not all. Rylai's passive makes your abilities slow your enemies for 1.5 seconds. At 40% cdr your Transfusion has a 1.8 second cooldown. This allows you to catch most of your enemeis when they see they have no option but to run (unless it's a Speedyr). This item can be taken right after Hextech Revolver if you have trouble staying alive in fights.
Zhonya's Hourglass Against a heavy ad team this is a really nice item. Gives quite a bit of ap, some armor and a 2 second immortality. Definetly worth it.
Abyssal Scepter This is a nice item if you need extra magic resistance. This item also reduces the magic resistance of nearby enemies. However if one player in your team already carries this and/or you need more heavy magic resistance, Force of Nature is an excellent option also. Insane hp regen and extra movement speed helps.
Void Staff If your enemies finally found out you're ruining their day with insane magic damage, they will start stacking magic resistance and you do not like that at all. That is why you get one of these and laugh at their 200+ mr while you roll their faces just like before.
Rabadon's Deathcap Having no trouble living through fights? Want more damage? Want to look silly wearing two hats? Get a second Rabadon's and you will be rolling with 700+ ap.
Lich Bane Now I'm not a big fan of this item, but I understand why some people like to take it on Vlad. In lategame it will hurt a lot. But the main reason I would personally take this item is just for the backdooring power. If the game is dragging and you aren't able to form any good pushes, this item will EAT BUILDINGS. EAT THEM NOMNOMNOM. Just spam E while hitting a turret/inhib/nexus and watch it crumble.

Playing as Vladimir

I suggest watching this video if you're new with some of the terms in this section: /league-of-legends/ability/transfusion-285

Tips and Tricks

Smartcasting
One useful thing with Vladimir is smartcast. It means you don't have to first select the ability you want to use, and then select the target. For example: normally if you want to use Transfusion, you have to first push Q, and then click your target. However, if you go to in game Options -> Key Bindings, scroll down a bit and change your "Smart Cast Spell 1" to Q, you can use Transfusion MUCH faster by simply hovering your cursor over your target and pushing Q. Now, why would this be important? Because this will maximize your damage. I usually switch to smartcasting at level 9. This makes killing people so much easy. Just hover your cursor over your target and spam Q and E. :p