I'm level 19, but I still consider myself new at the game as I don't know about anything. I have recently bought Vladimir
and am going to main him. Does anyone have any advice for me when I play him? Are there other ranged champions like him? Who counters Vladimir, and who is he good against? Any advice would help, thanks!
top lane vlad doesn't have many counters. liss gnar and mundo are probally the worst for him. you should wait to decide on maining him until the mage update settles out. the new vlad also benefits massively from building health over actual ap and the only item i consider absolutely neccesary on him is a liandrys.
well be prepare to see him get banned sometimes in ranked
Not that you should listen to my advice but for build wise and situation wise I have some tips. If your team heavily needs a tank, all you need is a rod of ages and tank items since more tank is needed. One example could be rod, visage, and more tank items depending on your situation (i.e. Tank items with armor or magic resist). But if you don't worry too much and don't need a tank you can build a more ap and less tank ( but definitely more fun ) by doing Liandries, Rylais, Rod of Ages, Hextech Gunblade, Tank item, and a pair of boots/ a tank item. Even though you don't need too much ap as vlad and spell vamp was removed , the ap build is more for fun or fooling around
To be honest, now is probably the worst time to ask for advice on playing Vladimir because he literally just got a rework. He hasn't really changed all that much so you can get some advice, but what is ultimately "best" is probably not certain at this point. Even one of his most core items Will of the Ancients, has just been completely removed from the game.
That said, I will do my best. As far as items go, most people would probably agree that building AP works better with his passive than building health. You will be able to deal a greater amount of damage while remaining tanky enough to have decent survivability.
are good because they provide both. Rylai's slow is very useful, and Liandry's magic pen and burn is great when you take him to the top lane against tanks.
actually becomes more efficient than it is with other mages.
is a good source of AP and magic pen as he has a pretty low range on his abilities.
is great on the flip side because his kit is pretty heavily focused on being able to heal himself.
is another example of things that I don't really know much about, but it looks like a really good item on him because it gives health, AP, and CDR.
<Quick note about CDR, while it is good, you want to be careful. With your Health being your resource, too much CDR and not enough ability to regain a significant amount of health back, means you will pretty much be killing yourself>
As for boots, take your pick between 
depending on your situation
are useless because you most likely wont be relying on your auto attacks for anything.
& 
are always something to consider as a form of movement speed (they are boots after all) but Vladimir isn't often a big roamer. His lack of built in mobility will make any movement speed useful still.
As for your level. I will say that I have to agree with your consideration of being new. That isn't to say anything about your skill, just that this game is quite extensive. I am still learning and I've been level 30 forever. The fact that things continue to change on a nearly weekly basis makes it impossible to learn everything, and that is one of the best things about this game in my opinion. Stick with it and stay open to learning new strategies without letting losses get to you, and you should be just fine. But most importantly, have fun. This is a video game.
You're still considered new until you hit level 30. Even then you're still relatively new as there is a lot to learn in this game.
Elite4Runner suggested some good item builds. It used to be that hextech revolver into will of the ancients was a must buy but it has since been removed from the game and so the best item to rush now is Rylia's. It gives the two stats Vladimir needs most: ability power and health and it gives him something he also desperately needs which is a slow effect on his spells making him able to kite his enemies. Liandries torment enhances both his tankiness and his power. Spirit Visage is the go to item for countering strong ability power enemies and Zhonya's hourglass is still the only viable AP/armor item so build that into AD matchups.
As far as what counters Vladimir, Swain is a strong counter as Swain's damage over time abilities cannot be dodged and reduce healing. He is basically tailored to counter everything about Vladimir. If someone runs ignite you are in for a bad time. I recall a game where I played Vladimir into a Xin Zhao and could not do a thing as he would jump on me every chance he got. Mundo outsustains you and his permaslow is can lead to your death. Anivia may prove to be annoying but not really a hard counter. Cassiopeia is another one that may be tough to beat as she outscales you and has more consistent damage and more utility yet you are resource less so that is your advantage there. Malzahar is listed as a counter but that's more a skill match up because while his space AIDS can damage you regardless of whether you are pooled or not, you can heal off of his voidlings and use them for extra gold income.
Try not to farm with your sanguine pool (W) as that is your primary form of escape. Try using it sparingly. That's a major newbie mistake I witness. You can use flash while still in your sanguine pool. You can also use zhonays while pooled as well. Sanguine pool can help you dodge a lot of things like Karthus requiems, Vi's assault and battery, Sion's unstoppable onslaught and Miss Fortune's Bullet time to name a few. There are some abilities that cut through you anyway regardless of whether or not you are pooled and include the summoner spell ignite, Morgana's soul shackles (if they attached prior to you pooling), Fizz's seastone trident rend effect, Mordekaiser's children of the grave, Twitch's deadly venom (or any poison effect for that matter) and Malzahar's malefic visions.
As far as how you generally play Vladimir is that you try to be super annoying in lane. You don't want to outright kill your enemy laner, but you do want to make him back before you do. Do that and you are playing him the proper way. When he leaves you shove the lane in and get your jungler to help you tear down his tower then back away and return to lane before he can push and do the same to your tower. Mid game Vladimir really doesn't roam much. You only roam when you know a team fight is happening because your ultimate is designed for this. You lay down your hemoplague and then let your team burst them down. If the enemy team tries to escape your hemoplague will activate and may net you some kills. Then you group with your team and shove the lane and take tower. You could take a dragon but Vladimir's skill set is better suited for speed farming minion waves and being annoying. Late game you transition into being the pseudo mage-tank and become an immovable force in your team's formation. You will poke hard, be ultra tanky and be able to apply pressure on enemy lanes. Vladimir is also well suited for "comeback" games as he is a great defender and can match an enemy's pushing power with minimal effort.
