How to win lane as Karma against Vladimir · 48.42% win rate (1,392 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Poke war on your terms — RQ out-trades any single spell, and your shield erases his answer.
Track: Vladimir's W — Sanguine Pool (28–16s cooldown). Untargetable dodge — bait it before you spend your kill window.
Read from Karma's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Vladimir.
This is Karma's own plan; across 1,392 pooled games the lane is leaning Vladimir.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | You both have a weak level 1, but Mantra is up immediately — open RQ Soulflare for a huge poke he cannot Pool away yet. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Your Inner Flame poke layered on Gathering Fire refunds Mantra faster than his Q heal restores his HP. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | RQ Soulflare's delayed zone and slow chunk a Pool-less Vlad off the wave before he can answer. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karma | At your 4-5 peak, repeated Q/RQ rotations shove him under tower and let you tax plates behind Inspire's speed. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Level 6 is even — your R is just re-empowerment, while his Sanguine Pool now drops targetability to dodge your W root on the all-in. |
| First item | Karma | Your first AP/haste item sharpens RQ burst and shield value, snapping you back into a strong poke window before he spikes. |
| Two+ items | Vladimir | He out-scales hard: post-Rylai/Liandry Vlad out-sustains your chip and his Tides of Blood bursts your frame — you must close it out before two items. |
Vlad is one of the weakest level-1s in the game, and so are you — but you have Mantra from level 1 and he has no Sanguine Pool to escape it. Open with an RQ Soulflare the instant he walks up to last-hit; the delayed zone and slow chunk him and there is nothing he can do but eat it. Keep layering Inner Flame poke on the cooldown of his Q heal — every ability you land refunds Mantra through Gathering Fire, so trading aggressively literally rebuilds your empowerment faster than he can heal it back.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Karma's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Karma 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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Vladimir, slightly — Karma wins 48.42% of 1,392 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Vladimir has a small statistical edge (51.58% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Vladimir has the slight edge (Karma wins 48.42%), though it stays close.
Karma takes Arcane Comet on the Sorcery tree with Manaflow Band, Transcendence and Scorch, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Vladimir.
Start Doran's Ring + 2 Health Potions and back for Oblivion Orb (≈800g) — cuts his healing. Build Malignance / Blackfire Torch first, then Cosmic Drive, with Sorcerer's Shoes / Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Vladimir vs Karma guide →
All Karma top lane matchups →
More Karma top lane matchups: vs Tryndamere · vs Urgot · vs Vayne · vs Volibear · vs Warwick · vs Wukong
Also played in: Mid Lane