League of Legends S12: Vladimir Mid Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Vladimir in the midlane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Hextech Rocketbelt

3200 Gold

Cosmic Drive

3000 Gold

Build

Hextech Rocketbelt is a great gap-closer, and allows for waveclear in the early game.

Cosmic Drive offers great raw stats for AP champions, and a bonus every three hits. 

Other great items include Shadowflame, Mejai's Soulstealer, Rabadon's Deathcap, and Void Staff.

Starting Item & Boots

Refillable Potion

150 Gold

Dark Seal

350 Gold

Sorceror's Shoes

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Vladimir skill priority is:

R > Q > E > W

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Vladimir in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Vladimir has the potential to cause major stress for opponents thanks to his excellent range and almost unparallelled sustain. As long as you can navigate a tricky early game if the enemy team has champions like Darius or Renekton, you should be able to control the lane quite easily. 

• Level 1 - Take Q - Transfusion, as this is your bread-and-butter damage dealer, as well as bringing excellent sustain. 
• Level 2 - Take E - Tides of Blood, as this is a great escape tool if you feel you're about to get locked down by an early gank.
• First Back - Take a Hextech Alternator for early damage, or pick up your boots.

Tips & Tricks

• Remember to stack Transfusion twice in order to take advantage of the move speed bonus. 
• Hemoplague applies a damage amplifier to enemies, deals significant damage, and heals Vladimir for each champion hit. Use it to sustain yourself in the middle of a teamfight.
• Sanguine Pool costs a percentage of current health, rather than max health. This makes it great to use at low health.