Gnar vs Vladimir — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Gnar against Vladimir · 51.61% win rate over 837 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Gnar is favoured — Gnar owns 3 of the 7 game windows to Vladimir's 2. Gnar wins 51.61% of games vs Vladimir in top lane (837 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1GnarVlad is one of the weakest level-1s and your Mini autos plus a Boomerang out-poke his Transfusion while you deny his last-hits.
Level 2GnarHyper's third-hit move-speed proc plus Boomerang lands a free chunk before he has Sanguine Pool to escape — your best early window.
Level 3Even / skillHe gets pool online and heals your Mini poke back with Q, so trades even out unless your Rage is banked for a Mega answer.
Levels 4-5GnarIf Rage lines up, a Mega Wallop stun is the one hard CC his Sanguine Pool can't cleanse once it connects — that's your hand on the lane.
Level 6Even / skillAt 6 you gain GNAR! but only in Mega form, so it's pure transform timing — with Mega up you bully pre-Rylai Vlad, without it you trade evenly.
First itemVladimirPre-Rylai Vlad still has a long pool cooldown, but his Transfusion sustain and scaling start outpacing your form-gated Mini poke into the mid-game.
Two+ itemsVladimirFull-AP Vlad with Rylai's and Liandry's pools your CC, kites your fragile Mini body and out-drains your burst — play for teamfights, not the 1v1.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Vlad is one of the weakest level-1s and so are you in Mini, but the difference is your ranged autos plus a single Boomerang chip him for free while his Transfusion last-hits get denied the moment you shove. Level 2 is your window: stack Hyper to the third-hit proc for the move-speed burst, weave a Boomerang, and you take a chunky trade he can't answer with no Sanguine Pool yet. Just don't dump Rage early poking a champ who heals it all back with Q — you want Mega banked, not wasted.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Gnar vs Vladimir report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.

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