Hey guys!

When I first started playing LOL brand was actually the first champion I ever played. Unfortunately it was just during a free week and without the IP I wasn't able to buy him immediately. Since then I have bought Brand and learned how to use him in a way that is effective for me. I have tried several builds and this is the one that I personally enjoy using so far.

Also, I am not level 30 so this is what my projected outlook for Brand would look like once I hit level 30.

If you don't like this build then that's ok, it's not for everyone. This is simply how I play with my friends and what has worked so far. Please look at other builds

1. Brand is a combo based champion.
2. Brand is extremely squishy and will die extremely quick.
3. YOU ARE NOT A TANK! (You are a toy!!)
4. Brand is best played as burst champion
5. When your spells are on cooldown you are very vulnerable
6. This build is made to deal as much damage as possible

I choose Flash & Ignite for several reasons:
1. Flash is a great ability to get away from enemies or to get to enemies. Brand is not super fast and being able to get one last hit can be the difference.
2. Brand sometimes will not completely kill an opponent with just his abilities and as such using Ignite will help to ensure the kill.

Other Summoner Spells:
Exhaust: Great for slowing down enemies but as Brand you get a stun so not completely necessary.
Ghost: Great for escaping. Could be used in place of Flash but I personally see more usage outta Flash.
Cleanse: If you are getting stunned/CC then you may be getting too close to fights in which case you will probably die anyways.
Clarity: Not needed as you will be getting a Meki Pendant and eventually a Tear of the Goddess early.
Clairvoyance: Let your supports take this ability. Wards should be fine for you unless you are really afraid of the bushes.
Revive: If you are dying so much that you need to revive yourself constantly then you are playing Brand wrong. In fact, you are probably playing the game wrong.
Smite: Great for jungling! Bad for Brand
Fortify: Let your tanks and/or supports take this. There are better spells for you to use.
Rally: What? If you are standing near this expecting the bonus to help then you are asking for opponents to walk up to you and kill you.

Lane or Mid? that seems to be a common question with Brand for me

For me when I play Brand, I usually prefer not to play mid. There are several reasons for this:
1. Brand is very very squishy
2. Brand is heavily dependent on his combos and not hitting or interrupting his combo will mean lots of running
3. I just generally feel more comfortable with a teammate
4. I'm a wimp and I hate being alone. :)

This is not to say that I don't recommend playing mid-lane with him. He's one of the strongest mid lane champions but I personally would rather give that to the AD carry or someone who is better.

Now, on the other hand, I love to lane usually with a tank or a support or someone who has a stun or slow. The reason for this is because Brand has use Conflagration and then sear in order to stun which can be hard to hit if one isn't familiar to such a combo.

You have basically one goal with Brand. Stay on the outskirts of fights and deal as much damage as possible from as far away as possible. When you use your abilities and have done the damage, you need to get out and live to fight another day.

I start with Pillar of Flame because it has a large area of effect and will simply do some nice damage.
Then I get my Conflagration which allows me to instant hit any champion and then hit them with my Pillar to deal that extra 25%.
Then after that I get my Sear so I can combo effectively.
Then according to the skill sequence above I switch off leveling up Pillar of Flame and Conflagration and getting Sear only when I have 2 lvls of the other two.
For example: If my Pillar and Conflagration are both lvl 3 and my Sear is only lvl 1 then I will take the point in Sear to make it level 2.

Now for the important part. The combo. I have seen multiple people who play brand fail spectacularly at his combo and thus not cause as much damage as possible. Now, I usually hate helping people because I will probably run into them again but I hate seeing my favorite champion get used so poorly :)

So now, your basic anti-champion combo should look like this:
Conflagration -> Sear -> Pillar of Flame
Basically what will happen is that you will immediately light your opponent on fire (applying the Blaze passive) then if you hit your sear your opponent will be stun and your pillar should be an easy hit dealing terrible terrible damage. Why this combo? Because it can make your life that much easier when you apply that stun to your enemies. Without the stun, you are just a squishy caster waiting to die.
If you find you can't kill some beefy champions with that, then simply throw in a Pyroclasm and an Ignite which should be enough to finish them off.
NOTE: Your Sear will NOT go through enemy minions. If it hits an enemy minion it will damage it. But it WILL go through ally minions.

Now if you are about to engage in a big teamfight, you should let your tank initiate, of course, and then try to launch this combo:
Pyroclasm -> Pillar of Flame -> Conflagration
The reason for this is because this allows your ultimate to bounce around and then you can launch your extra damage from your Pillar and with everyone on fire (and hopefully still in one group) you can spread more damage with the Confla. Remember your Pyroclasm will bounce from target to target even if that means hitting a minions so try to use it on enemies in groups of 2 or 3.

These are two basic combos but it takes practice to really get them to work the way they are intended to work. So try to make sure you can pull them off quickly. Also, practice with the stun because it is not the easiest thing to always hit.

I start the game out with a Meki Pendant & 2 Health Potion. The reason being that Brand runs out of mana very quickly and the Pendant will allow you to lane longer. The health potions are just simply for health.

From there I wait until I can build into my Tear of the Goddess and work on my Sorcerer's Shoes. With those 2 items, Brand will have more or less unlimited mana and can do some nice damage.

Then I move onto getting my Archangel's Staff. Now some people might not agree with this. But my reasoning for this item is this. This item provides not only massive mana regeneration but also a ton of AP. AP is very very important on Brand and the more you have, the better you will be. By maintaining a solid AP count all game, you will remain a threat to the enemy.

After all this, you will work on getting your Rabadon's Deathcap. When you get this item, your damage output will go from "that's pretty good" to "Holy ****! where did that come from!?!". The archangel is a caster's best friend and will go a long way especially with Brand's AP ratios on his spells.

Now after you get your Rabadon's Deathcap things can go a number of ways. You now need to decide and figure out how your opponents are building and who you are having trouble killing. I, personally, prefer to get the Void Staff next as it has decent AP and also has the important magic penetration needed to get through magic resist. Or you can get a Rylai's Crystal Scepter which gives good health and also has the extra slow to help you maintain distance with your opponents. Or I have even gone for a Deathfire Grasp before, which doesn't provide an amazing amount of AP but is useful for helping to bring down health-heavy tanks.

But regardless of what you buy, you must eventually get a 2nd Archangel's Staff. The passive on the item is not unique (according to LOL wiki) but you will still be able to build up massive mana and in turn build up massive AP. And with this nearing the late game you will be a force to be reckon with as you nuke and blast away enemies.

There are always other items to get and here are some others that wouldn't be a bad idea.
Rod of Ages: Provides good health for survivability and a decent amount of AP. However you will need to build a Catalyst the Protector first instead of a Tear of the Goddess and your AP won't be as high in the early-mid game.

Mejai's Soulstealer: Never gotten this item before because I feel like it's too much risk if you don't get kills and also it doesn't provide any mana. But if you are feeling good about your chances then this item can really help.

Zhonya's Hourglass: Provides great AP and also armor. Also allows you to be invulnerable for a couple of seconds. Good strong late game item if you are getting targeted in fights. Just don't forget to use the active when you need it.

Morello's Evil Tome: Another item I've never personally gotten but the cooldown reduction should be a big help with Brand's cooldowns.

Abyssal Mask: Decent item but probably not the best on Brand since you shouldn't be in the middle of any fights. If you are.... you're probably dead.

Archangel's Staff: Another one you might ask? well the Archangel staff simply provides some of the best AP in the game. If your opponents aren't building Magic Resist and you want some more firepower, then get another Archangel's.

Although I do play Brand mostly in lane I also play him in mid if needed. The build can still remain the same but however some people like to get different items and I'm not a big fan of it and here's why.

Amplifying Tome: Some people really like this item first along with a health potions. I personally don't because it doesn't really build into anything you need early game. It will eventually get you a Rylai's Crystal Scepter and a Void Staff but those items are mid-late items. Your spells will be doing enough damage that the extra AP won't be all that needed. And you will also probably run outta mana.

Doran's Ring: Not a bad item. Good mana regen and health and even some AP! But probably best used in a ranked game. The ring is a strong early game item but it does delay you getting the Tear of the Goddess which I feel is a more important item.

Sapphire Crystal: Good bit of mana. Will allow you to stay in the lane.... for just a bit longer. I used to get this item first but then I realized that I would run out of mana without any real good mana regen.

Morello's Evil Tome or Will of the Ancients: These are both good items but they don't provide as much AP as one would like to have. The Morello's is nice because it has the cooldown reduction but it only provides 75 AP which in the long run is dwarfed by the Archangel's Staff.

But that's enough about items. How to play mid lane effectively with Brand?
Well first things first, you need to know how to last hit minions and farm well. That will be covered in another section. And secondly, you must know how to find the right angles. What do I mean by that? Brand is combo based (as mentioned before) so in order to maximize your damage you must hit your spell combo (mentioned above in Skill Sequence) but you must be in a position to do so.

-So to start off, you grab your early game items and your Pillar of Flame. You will stand behind your minion waves and, depending on who you are facing, make sure your minions your minions will take hits before you will. Last hitting minions and harassing your opponent with your Pillar of Flame will allow you to gain lane presence.
-Once you get Conflagration, you will use your combo of a quick Conflagration -> Pillar of Flame to deal some nice damage while also last hitting minions.
-But the real fun begins once you get your Sear. When you get a clear shot (by clear shot I mean the first thing you will hit is the enemy champion and not a minion), you immediately do the anti-champion combo. If you don't land all your spells, that's ok. Just back off behind your minions and let your mana regen and then try again. Your goal in doing this is to make Brand a feared champion. You want your enemy to be afraid of you but watch out for jungle ganks!

Here are some champions I have faced at mid before and how I try to deal with them:


A popular mid champ. Can hit real hard and also has her Volley and Frost Shot which make her a dangerous champion. But her Volley will not go through minions so if you stand behind your minions and wait for her to waste that shot and then go for your combo you should be fine. Just beware of her Enchanted Crystal Arrow which will be your biggest concern.


Kennen is a major headache for me whenever I play mid. Not only does he have a stun but also great AoE damage combined with some nice range and he also can go super fast which can be super annoying. But that same speed can be just as costly to him. When Kennen uses his Lightning Rush he will usually run straight for you and try to get you to back off. This is perfect because you just have to wait for him to clear his minions and then just stun him and laugh.


Kass is pretty tough with his silence but he is a melee champion and that same silence also has a pretty tough cooldown. Keep your distance and don't let Kass farm too much.


It's a fiddle in the middle and a middle in the fiddle! Sorry, couldn't help it. But fiddle can be a tough mid with his life steal. but in order for him to use that life steal, he has to be within range and that usually means he is within range of your stun.


Annie is only useful if she has her stun. The key is that she needs to have used 5 spells before she can do so. So basically, you should have the advantage on her due to Brand being able to stun almost whenever. But be careful, if Annie does stun try to make sure you are in a defensive position (near the turret or in range to flash out).


Malzahar is one of the toughest champions to go against one-on-one. Between his stun, damage over time, and voiding, he can dish out some massive damage. Having played Malzahar before, there is really not an easy way to go about it. Play smart and defensively try your hardest to dodge his silence. If you can land your stun and then let him have it. Don't be afraid to ask for help from your jungler or someone else in another lane.

I mentioned before that I usually play Brand as a laning champion with a strong tank or support ally with him. I am going to (hopefully) explain what you should be trying to achieve while in your lane.

As a ranged caster you should be try to harass your opponents as much as possible. This involves dropping Pillar of Flame and Conflagration on enemy champions but also making sure your mana doesn't run low. Once you get your Sear, you should focus on stunning your opponent and making them fear your explosive power.

Now a lot of this can also depend on your teammate. There are a lot of good champions for Brand to lane with but also some not so great.

Here is a list of some good champions to try to lane with:

Maokai is my best friend whenever I play Brand. With Maokai's many tank and support ability he's a great champion to lane with. You just have to wait for him to do his grab onto an opponent and then you proceed to light them up except you can change your combo to Conflagration -> Pillar of Flame -> Sear because Maokai will basically be doing the stun for you.

or
Each of these champions have an auto-stun Cryptic Gaze & Dazzle and they can get it early. They are both beefy characters who can help support Brand very well in a lane.

or
Great tank characters who also have a nice grab ability combined with a stun that allows them to lane well with Brand. Their ultimates also have a nice area of effect which is perfect for allowing Brand to deal massive damage.


This is a fun champion to lane with. Although both of you are extremely squishy, Ryze has a snare and can nuke people along with Brand's stun and nuke as well. With this combo you can make your lane a lane to be feared.


Laning with Galio can have many advantages. For one, he's a good tank but he is also a great support character. But Galio and Brand really shine in teamfights whenever Galio has his big AoE taunt that allows Brand to use his Pyroclasm and Pillar of Flame very effectively.

Brand is an excellent farmer! In fact, sometimes I call him Farmer Brand! (actually I don't.... but still I think it's a catchy name). With Brand's AoE and combos he can effectively kill minions like a champ. In my opinions, if by the end of the game you don't have a lot of minion kills (i.e. 100-200 or even more depending on length of game) then you will fall behind.

This is important to remember- Getting minions kills will allow you to keep up even if you are not getting kills. What I mean is simply, getting a champion kill is great and all but if you only have like 20 minion kills and 3 champ kill then someone with 75 minion kills and 1 champ will probably have close to the same amount of gold as you. (my math is probably completely wrong here but you get the idea)

The basic combo for Brand to kill minions is this:
Pillar of Flame -> Conflagration
This will put the blaze passive on multiple minions and then your conflagration will spread damage through nearby minions. Early game, this will not kill the caster minions right away but will bring them down to extremely low health. By the time you get your Archangel's Staff that combo should be able to completely kill the caster minions.

another combo that will do more damage but will require more set up is this:
Sear -> Conflagration -> Pillar of Flame
You will Sear the first minion (preferably a siege minion) and then the Conflagration will spread the blaze and finally your pillar should finish everything off.

I would not recommend using Pyroclasm ever to farm because it is just so important in team fights.

Brand is a great champion and still my favorite to play to this day. I believe he's well balanced and can be a force when used correctly. With the build I have presented, you will be a pretty squishy Brand but you shouldn't be in the middle of fights anyways. As long as you stand on the outskirts of battle and let your fire do the work you should deal a strong amount of damage.

I will update this build as needed and hopefully this build will work for you. I know it's not perfect so any suggestions would be helpful!