Riven vs Vladimir TOP Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

Back to matchup selector

Champion

Opponent

RoleGenerate matchup

Riven

VS

Top

Vladimir

Riven vs Vladimir

Updated Jun 3, 2026

Overview

Riven must pressure Vladimir early to deny his safe scaling and prevent calm farming phases.
Use Riven's high mobility and cooldown advantage to control lane tempo and force Vladimir to use (W) defensively.
This is a snowball matchup where Riven aims to punish Vladimir's cooldowns and burst him before he scales.

Trading pattern

Chain (Q), (W), and (E) for burst trades, then disengage before cooldowns expire to avoid retaliation.
Punish Vladimir immediately after he uses (W) to become untargetable, as he is vulnerable during its cooldown.
Avoid trading when Vladimir's empowered (Q) is ready, as his sustain and burst are stronger then.

Danger windows

Be cautious when (W) is available, as he can avoid your crowd control and damage.
Avoid committing when Vladimir's empowered (Q) is ready, increasing his short trade threat.
Respect Vladimir's level 6 (R) burst window by holding key defensive cooldowns and disengage options.

Early game

Start with short, cooldown-based trades using (Q), (W), and (E) to chip Vladimir before he can safely heal with (Q).
Avoid extended trades after using mobility; instead, trade only when (W) is down to punish his vulnerability.
Use level 3 power spike to threaten combos and force Vladimir to play cautiously.

Power spikes

Level 6: Activate (R) to convert prior chip damage into lethal burst; bait Vladimir's key cooldowns before committing.
First haste/damage item: Use improved cooldowns to threaten repeated trades and punish Vladimir's forced (W) cooldown.
Respect Vladimir's level 6 (R) and empowered (Q) windows by holding crowd control and shield for his all-in attempts.

Win conditions

Snowball early by punishing (W) cooldown and landing full combos with (Q), (W), and (E).
Deny Vladimir calm scaling by applying lane pressure and forcing him to use sustain defensively.
Use (R) all-in windows to secure kills and transition to side-lane pressure and skirmishes to snowball lead.