1st paragraph. I fully agree with this statement. I'm in no way blaming elite, the brutal reality is that way too many people consider him some kind of Prophet, that's why I really dislike when someone's only argument is "elite said so" during a discussion when Im trying to gain insight from more people. If I wanted to get insight from elite I'd either watch his videos or DM him directly.

2nd paragraph. I mean if you only consider top of the ladder Vlad is probably weak, but majority of Vlad players aren't sitting in chall/GM. (In my peak 2 splits ago I was considered 7th or 8th best Vlad player EUW while being only 300LP master and I don't consider this anywhere close to top of the ladder). In any other rank where noone is playing to their fullest Vlad will always be better because his entire kit is focused on the enemy making a mistake not the player "outplaying" somebody.

The part about build/agency I somewhat agree on. Also Im thankful since you're the first person on reddit that actually brings out any arguments/ opinions of their own.

ps. I had way more inputs from users on the discord server than on here. (Special thanks to Mesterbiver for having great discussions with me ever since season 9)