Talk:Vladimir/@comment-4638923-20120513001142/@comment-166.248.64.49-20120513023336

Carrying a team- unfortunately, this isn't something i've been able to do with him either. I can never die, but it's really hard to carry a team because vlad is simply not a monster. Vayne can 4 shot enemies if well fed. Olaf can take on 4v1 and come out with 1/3rd hp, swinging super hard with 5k max hp and the enemy team QQing about how fed you got. Unfortunately, vlad has neither one of these abilities. He will not deal stuid damage, nor can her survive the entire enemy team. He does offer some of both, though. The best advice i can give you is to find a partner. Somebody with a stun or slow(actually, olaf would work wonders, since he can also jungle), and that will help you in securing kills. plus absorbing some of the damage. Vlad's strategy relies on poking enemies down to ~1/2 hp, THEN eating their face. This isn't amaing when it comes to carrying teams. HE's too squishy, and deals too little burst damage all at once to kill 2-3 of their members.

Counters- I've never had problems against a ryze, but haven't played much agains brand. You should tke pool at lv 2, and pop it whenever ryze snares you, then use your q/pots to regen. A good thing to do would be to run him solo top. He plays the role slightly better due to the champs he encounters, plus it allows for another mage mid who can be bursty and can also make huge usage of the blue buff, since vlad doesn't really need it. Most times vlad is played in competitive, high ELO play, it's top. Try this, and you'll have better matchups, and better farm. Also, don't be afraid to use rank 3-4 q to last hit. It has a low CD and heals you, so there's no reason to save it when you're outranged.

Boots- This is more a matter of the game you're in. If you end up running a dual ap carry build, the enemy team will likely rush some MR. In that case, sorc shoes would prbly be better. If you're AD heavy, then lucididty offers a better sustained DPS. I feel that when i am force to build sorc shoes, i often find my q off CD just half a second too late to hit the enemy running from me. Lucidity stops this problem, and allows vlad to be burstier. IF YOU DO NOT BUILD SORCS: you must rush a void staff after your ryala's/deathcap, or the enemy team will completely negate your damage.

Hope this helps.