How to win lane as K'Sante against Vladimir · 47.85% win rate over 930 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Vlad is one of the weakest level-1s, but so are you — with only Q and no engage you just farm and deny his Q drain last-hits. |
| Level 2 | Vladimir | He charges E poke and heals it with Q while you still lack a combo — his sustained chip edges this level before your W or E. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Your Q-W combo comes online and you can W him into terrain for the stun, but his pool can blank it, so it is a coin-flip on his cooldown. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | You out-trade a pre-Rylai Vlad with your bulk, but he pools to dodge your Q3 and W — neither of you reliably wins, so it is skill. |
| Level 6 | K'Sante | All Out converts you to a duelist and his low base resists fold to your R burst if you catch him before Sanguine Pool comes up. |
| First item | Vladimir | Your first tank item is durable, but his first AP item plus pool kiting starts to out-sustain and out-poke your stacking armor. |
| Two+ items | Vladimir | He out-scales hard — untargetable pool dodges your R, and Rylai-slow plus Liandry magic damage ignores your armor and melts you. |
Vladimir has no escape until W Sanguine Pool comes online, but you have no engage threat at Level 1 with just Q, so neither of you wins the opening — last-hit at the tip of Q and accept his E-charge poke without walking into auto range. The danger is his Q drain healing back every bit of chip you land, so don't waste your short cooldowns trading into a target that just sustains it off. By Level 3 your Q-W combo is up: this is your first real window, but his pool can blank it, so make him spend it on minions or bait it before you commit W into terrain.
The full K'Sante 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.
Become a Founding Member — $1.99/month →🔒 Secure checkout · 💰 7-day money-back guarantee · ✋ Cancel anytime
Early Access price — $3.99/month for new members after launch.
Playing the other side? Vladimir vs K'Sante guide →
All K'Sante top lane matchups →