This is the first build I have ever submitted, but it is on my favourite and most played champion, being Brand. I constructed this build from my playing style which basically is keeping my cool down as low as possible whilst maintaining a good amount of Ability Power and a bit of magic penetration.

All of the items in this build play a key role in sustaining Brand on the field, especially and hopefully MID LANE. The Items generally focus on 4 main attributes, being; Ability Power, Magic Penetration, Magic Regeneration and Cool-down Reduction as they coincide with the runes respectively. Next I will be explaining why these are attributes are so important for Brand.

Ability Power
AP is essential for any mage and particularly Burster's. As Brand is a burster it is important to stack a MASSIVE amount of ability power on top of his abilities to cause complete annihilation in the mid. For Brand, it is optimal to get around 400-600 AP (depending on succession) to dominate the playing field before he starts to ware off late game (if he has been fed, that's an entirely different story). The masteries in the offensive tree and the Quintessences from the runes give brand a very strong start in mid.

Magic Penetration
There is nothing much to MP on Brand besides having it to counter anyone who stacks magic resistance. This is where the Sorcerers Boots, Void Staff and the marks come into play. These together should easy sustain the damage you need to inflict on the enemy. The Void Staff should probably only be used if the enemy team stack more than 80 - 100 MR in total, otherwise this item can be substituted for another (AP would be ideal).

Magic Regeneration
This is essential for Brand player (especially those new to Brand) as like any burster, he is very mana hungry. As it is important for Brand to rack in minion kills early games and also try to destroy the enemy, Brand should definitely have a decent mana supply. This will allow him to harass enemies and kill minions with attacks such as PILLAR OF FLAMES more often, which is the perfect tool for strengthening Brand early game. The items that are responsible for the MR are the 2 Doran Rings and Morellos, which coincide with the Seals.

Cool-down Reduction
This attribute is not very common throughout many Brand builds, but I use it as a personal preference. Basically this will all Brand to spam his attacks more often (mainly Pillar of Flames) and create bigger harass. This will also make it harder for enemies to kill you as the Cool-down period (when Brand is at his weakest) is minimized. This of course comes with the substitution of a bit of AP (but I think he can Afford the loss). Morellos and the Glypths are mainly responsible for this.

- One thing I love about Brand his the number of combinations that you can do damage and hopefully kill the enemy. I am not going to state a particular skill combination, but you should always use different combinations. This makes you a lot harder to predict from the enemies point of view and can help you gain the advantage in you lane
- It is REALLY important that Brand farms up early game, this will give him an advantage in MID lane and will sustain him in the mid game phase
- Don't save the Sear attack. The Sear attack is a fairly good harassing tool in itself as it has a decent range and a low cool-down. Don't save the Sear for when your ready to go for the stun, because in the time your waiting, you could have scared, killed and/or harassed the life out of the enemy with it and Pillar of Flames. Just remember that it stuns after any of brands attacks (with the exception of Pyroclasm). So you'll have plenty of opportunities to go for the stun.
- Lastly, I strongly not recommend using Brand in any other lane but MID, as he really needs his minions to sustain his build, and he is weak when against multiple full health enemies. Thats why Brand is best in MID lane (For the love of god, don't use him as a solo top).

Every champion has a main counter and weakness, but in Brands case (and all mages in fact (especially busters)) this would be that little squeaky voiced yordle called Veigar. This mage will tear any burster to shreads if he isn't dealt with properly. Veigars ULTI is the key factor for this, as it uses a % of your AP and a bit of his own against you. So yes, this means the more AP you have, the strong his Ulti is. To counter Veigar, nail him early game (quite obviously before level 6). Harass the living day light out of him with Pillar of Flames as it is really affective against him due to his low health and speed compared the Pillars Range, Area and Power. If you kill him once or twice, you pretty much have a major advantage over him in the MID lane, as you should be able to out burst him (unless some one feeds him). The key attack to look out for in Veigars burst set is Event Horizon, as this will trap and stun you if you touch the edges of the circle. The key to staying alive is AVOIDING THE STUN. If you are trapped inside Event, stay near the centre of it and wait to see where he deploys Dark Matter (without receiving damage from this, he shouldn't be able to kill you.

Quite simply, JUST RUN! he will destroy you in a blink of an eye. If you want to kill him, wait for him to release his burst on some, or get him to screw up his combo. He is very weak at this stage as he isn't very tanky and is very slow.

Get your running shoes ready, because everyone will be running away from you. The main thing to look out for if you are fed, are ganks. If you are fed, you will become a key target, as most players now how much damage a fed Brand can cause. So in the end:

- Play smart
- Don't get baited
- And stick with your team

I hope you guys enjoy this build and the information I have supplied to you. As this is my first build, I am eager to know what you guys think and if you have any improvements to suggest.

Cheers