After trying several different builds out I've found that this is the one that works the best for me. It allows me to stay in lane for quite awhile, taking Brand's mana consumption into mind. The cooldown reduction also makes you much more formidable 1v1 as it allows you to spam heavy nukes and stuns in quick succession; if you don't kill them in the first combo that is.

Also, please keep in mind that I only mid as Brand so I'm not sure how effective this build is in a duo lane.

For runes I like to go with:

Red - MPen Marks for obvious reasons

Yellow - Flat MP5 Seals for early level when Brand is most mana hungry

Blue - Flat CDR Glyphs for decent CDR early game

Quints - Scaling CDR

I grab Ignite just to add a little extra oompf into my combos, and to stop annoying champs like Mundo in their tracks.

As for your pursuit/escape spell it's completely up to you which one you want to choose. I prefer Ghost over Flash due to the fact that I'm not the best at jumping walls and Ghost can put a lot more distance between you and would be gankers (in my experiences). However, Flash can help you set up a stun and a potential kill. So go with whichever you're more comfortable with.

For my masteries I like to dump the 9 points into the Offensive tree for the 15% Mpen for extra nuking power. If you're not level 30 yet you may want to consider putting the point into the Ignite mastery because the extra 10 AP can add to your bite early game. The rest of the points go into the utility tree for a standard caster build nabbing the Ghost/Flash mastery for obvious reasons.

R > W > E > Q

Q - Sear - As most of you know the stun tied with this ability stays at 2 seconds regardless of the level and it's only single target so it's best left alone until late game.

W - Pillar of Fire - This is by far one of my favorite champion abilities. A massive AoE nuke that allows you to farm and harass at the same time. It has enough range so that you to stay waaaay back and harass. I level this over E due to the fact that it deals an extra 25% damage if the target is ablaze. If you have a lot of trouble landing this you can go with E over W, but you may want to consider another champ because this is a core part of his laning.

E - Conflagrate - This ability is great for setting up combos, creep farming, and general harassment.

R - Pyroclasm - I like to think of this as a slow inevitable ball of doom looming over a running champion's shoulder. It moves so slowly, but it will almost always assure you a kill at the end of a combo. It will also devastate the enemy team if they stand too close together. With the CDR in this build you can use this in just about every fight and have it back up before you need it again. So don't be afraid to use it if you think it has a chance at netting a kill.

For the few of you who may not know the most effective way to farm creep waves is to start with Sear then Conflagrate the now Ablaze creep and follow up with Pillar of Fire for a whopping 25% more damage across the creep wave.

I like to start of with a Meki Pendant and 2 Health Potions. The Meki Pendant, along with runes and masteries, will give you enough MP5 to harass frequently and still have plenty of mana for your E-Q-W combo.

I can usually stay in lane until I have enough gold for a Fiendish Codex and at least level 1 Boots. If you have enough gold by the time you b go ahead and grab your level 2 boots of choice/situation. I myself find movement speed invaluable. It allows you to get into position, move between lanes more quickly, chase fleeing enemies, or flee yourself. However, what you choose is entirely up to you.

On my next trip back I buy Morello's Evil Tome for its awesome combination of AP, CDR, and MP5. I will also grab one of the items for Rylai's Crystal Scepter if I have the gold.

Next I finish my Rylai's. I include this in my build because of its decent amount of AP, +500 Health, and SLOW. Don't underestimate the slow, a well placed ability can allow your allies to catch up to a fleeing champ, help you land your Q and W, and allow you to escape a sticky situation. Keep in mind that AoEs only slow for 15% NOT the full 30%.

It's always a good idea to add to your survivability at some point in the game. Banshee's Veil, Abyssal Scepter, and Zhonya's Hourglass are all great choices depending on your situation. BV is the obvious choice if you're having trouble with AP champs, but an Abyssal Scepter can be an acceptable substitute if you're not having too much difficulty. It has decent amount of MRes, a nice amount of AP and an aura that takes a chunk of your opponent's MRes as a cherry on top. Zhonya's is great if you tend to get focused in team fights. Blow your combo then activate Zhonya's while your enemies try to retaliate. When it wears off your abilities should be coming off of cooldown, and you can lay out some more hurt.

Hopefully, you'll be dominating and the game will be over before this point, buuut if it's not you need to grab a Rabadon's Deathcap as Brand's damage will teeter off in late game.

Another item to consider in late game is Will of the Ancients. After several games I noticed I was having to b rather frequently during late game due to Brand's squishiness. The nice amount spell vamp provided by WotA will allow you to regain chunks of your health from creep waves without having to waste chunks of time going back and forth between base and the action. The aura is also quite nice to give your team a slight edge.

Do not underestimate Brand's ability to kill other champions. If an enemy starts to rush you, instantly punish them with a E-Q-W-(possibly R and Ignite) combo. If they're not dead they will more than likely be running, and if they aren't you have enough CDR to lay it on them again.

I'm sorry if it seemed like a was spoonfeeding information about items, abilities, etc.. I just don't want anyone to be confused about anything.

Please let me know how this build works out for you and leave some constructive feedback.