Vladimir

Vladimir is an AP mage in the top, and on patch 16.11 they grade out as a solid mid-tier pick — a 51.1% win rate, 1.6% pick rate, 18,114 ranked games sampled. On the power curve, Vladimir is a scaling champion: comparatively weak early, but one of the strongest picks on the map once core items come online — so the plan is to survive the laning phase and take the game over late.

How Vladimir wins: grouped 5-v-5 teamfights, where Vladimir tips the fight, and sieging objectives and turrets with sustained pressure. The kit grades 9/10 teamfighting, 7/10 siege, 7/10 waveclear. Play around where Vladimir is thin, engage and disengage (3/10, 3/10), and the enemy loses their angle.

The most-played core build is Hextech Rocketbelt, Riftmaker, Rabadon's Deathcap, which holds a 54.1% win rate across 1,356 games this patch. Item order and defensive swaps update against whichever enemy comp you select.

The matchup to respect is Akali, where Vladimir sits at just 40.1%, the lane swings the other way into Vayne (61.5%), and on the team side, Vladimir gains the most from a Shaco (+6.9% pair win rate).