Talk:Vladimir/@comment-4372473-20140201020347/@comment-5211662-20140309223649

I've played Vladimir mid recently, and he isn't that bad, the problem is that he is very weak early and must play safe until he gets a Hextech Revolver. After he gets this item, he can starts to crush the enemy. However, it will still take a while before he can actually carry the game. Vladimir mid is godly late-game, and I've managed to carry games with it. The problem is that Vladimir is like Poppy, like Vayne, like Nasus: he is a hypercarry. And like any hypercarry, he is nearly unstoppable late-game, but he has an awful laning phase and can be easily countered and crushed by his laning opponent before he even starts to get his items.

As for Vladimir top, he works well against many tanks, like Renekton, Shyvana, Malphite... The problem is that people think that when going top, you should build Vlad as an AP mage, like you would do on mid lane. This is the wrong way to build him if you are playing Vladimir top. If you want to beat tanks and off-tanks as Vladimir, you must build tanky yourself. I generally get a Void Staff, and either a Sunfire Cape or a Spirit Visage (that depends whether the enemy does AD or AP damage). This way, you can outsustain the enemy tank. Tank Vladimir still works well late-game, but he is not a hypercarry like its AP counterpart, as the name suggests he is instead a tank, and like other tanks, he takes the hits so that his allies can do the job. However, Vladimir still has some damage as a tank, and can outsustain the enemy, while having an ult that is amazing on teamfights.

For example, against Renekton top, you can win as Vladimir, However, you will not win if you build AP because Renekton will build magic resistance and totally ignore your damage, and since he is tanky and has damage and you are squishy, you will be crushed. However, if you build Vladimir as a tank, with Sunfire Cape, and a Void Staff to ignore Renekton's magic resistance (the Void Staff should be your only damage item, but this item is absolutely necessary otherwise you willl deal no damage) you can outsustain Renekton and eventually win against him. Your late-game will not be nearly as explosive as AP Vladimir, but you have your allies building damage for you. Don't worry if you don't get a lot of kills, as what matters in the end is that you win the game.