Vladimir vs Yasuo Mid Matchup
Vladimir Mid wins 52.9% of 4,804 Low Elo games against Yasuo Mid, +1.6 points vs expected, 2-patch window 26.19-26.20.
Researched on LoL patch 26.20. Tips are written to hold at any rank; stats come from Low Elo ranked games up to patch 26.20.
Why Vladimir is favored
Vladimir can heal through short trades with Transfusion(Q) and use Sanguine Pool(W) to avoid Yasuo's tornado and Last Breath(R) setup. If he keeps the lane controlled and does not give Yasuo an early snowball, his sustain and scaling make the matchup favorable.
Measured in High Elo: Vladimir wins 2.5pp more often than expected over 1,693 games.
How to play as Vladimir
Break Yasuo's passive shield with a basic attack before spending Transfusion(Q) or a charged Tides of Blood(E), and save Sanguine Pool(W) for his tornado rather than using it on ordinary poke.
Transfusion(Q) heals Vladimir, so short poke from Yasuo is easier to recover from than damage Vladimir takes in a sustained all-in.
Sanguine Pool(W) makes Vladimir untargetable, letting him dodge Yasuo's airborne Steel Tempest(Q) tornado and deny the Last Breath(R) follow-up.
How to play as Yasuo
Look to shove and help your jungler with early skirmishes instead of expecting to put Vladimir far behind through repeated solo kills; he sustains well and outscales if left even.
Sources
These notes come from r/summonerschool, r/VladimirMains, and r/YasuoMains, checked against the champions' abilities.