How to win lane as Vladimir against Karma · 51.58% win rate (1,392 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Weather the poke — drain her down and pool the Focused Resolve answer.
Track: Karma's W — Focused Resolve (12s cooldown). Her root tether — breaks if you LoS / outrange it.
Read from Vladimir's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Karma.
This is Vladimir's own plan; across 1,392 pooled games the lane is leaning Vladimir.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Level 1 is even as both of you just poke and last-hit with no all-in threat. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Level 2 stays skill-based: Focused Resolve is a 12s root, not a long cooldown, so pick the gap, don't pool. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | Level 3 is even — you trade her Q poke against your Transfusion sustain evenly. |
| Levels 4-5 | Karma | Levels 4-5 remain skill-driven as her enchanter damage plateaus and you heal the chip. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Level 6 is even because Karma's Mantra was already online, so she gains no new spike. |
| First item | Karma | First item favours you as your sustain and Q-E burst finally out-pressure her thin bar. |
| Two+ items | Vladimir | With two items Vladimir's Hemoplague all-in and pool safety hard-beat the escape-light enchanter. |
Levels 1-2 are skill-based: Karma's base Q pokes but she has no lockdown yet beyond a short empowered root, so trade Transfusion when her Mantra is spent.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Vladimir's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Vladimir vs Karma 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 — a 51.58% win rate edge over 1,392 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Vladimir has a small statistical edge (51.58% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Vladimir has a slight edge (51.58% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Vladimir takes Phase Rush on the Sorcery tree with Manaflow Band, Transcendence and Scorch, and Inspiration secondary (Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight) vs Karma.
Start Doran's Ring + 2 Health Potions and back for Core component + boots (≈1300g). Build Riftmaker (drain scaling) first, then Zhonya's Hourglass, with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Karma vs Vladimir guide →
All Vladimir top lane matchups →
More Vladimir top lane matchups: vs Jax · vs Jayce · vs K'Sante · vs Kassadin · vs Kayle · vs Kennen
Also played in: Mid Lane