Brand IS NOT a tank, but may take quite some damage late game and probably is able to solo any melee hero because of its passive and stun
Brand is mainly a hero to damage and stun, but i also see it as once of the best mages to slow enemies.
Brand is a crowd fighter, and single target fighter.
Brand is a lane dominator, as he can harass very nicely.

Because his balance of power, cd and MAINLY because of his combos, stuns and slows he is the most intense mage to play with.

For me, using Brand is not easy, but once you get the way you need to move, where to cast Pillar, how to slow, when to stun, AND MORE IMPORTANT how to make your passive eat your enemies, you will be able to solo almost any champ and kill almost any combination of 2 champs alone.

Thing is, i really dont like to need archangel just cause i need mana late game, so i really like the Greater Seal of Clarity, this way all i need until MID-LATE game is my Meki Pendant.
My Marks are chosen for a obvious reason.
The Glyphs are very useful once u will be able to spam spells late game and keep your enemies burning non stop (makes your ult 45s cooldown so you may never miss the oportunity of killing 2 fleeing enemies)
My quintessences are one of the main differences from this guide to any other. To me, brand needs to move... A LOT, dodge spells, place spells, hit with your stun, place that last Conflagration that will make the enemy burn while runs away and dies. This is way, this extra 4,5% MS makes the difference in the way you play.

My masteries are easy to understand, 9 points in offense makes you able to improve your your magic penetration by a lot!, plus you may get CD reduction and some extra AP. The 21 points in support are also very easy to understand, you get

Well, Brand's spells doesnt use a lot of mana, but when you combo them they do. So for start you NEED mana regen, and as Meki can be used later in the game i really like it better than the Ring. 2 Life pots are enough for you to keep in your lane until you have the money for the Boots, which is a must and you need to go back to base as soon as you have money for it.
After the mana regen, the move speed and the extra magic penetration you HAVE TO rush into a rylai's septer, and you must start it with the giants belt which will give you enough life to stand in the way of your opponents very effectively. Rylai's Septer is the main item of your build because the slow it provides makes you able to properly place your stuns and Pillars, being able to run away, chase, and kill. Deathcap is simply a must to any mage, so get it just after the Septer, so you can get blues without much effort and really hurt any enemie.
Morello's Evil Tome improves brand in every possible way, allowing him to stay in field for an extra time because of its mana regen, makes you able to spam spells and make VEEEEEERY long combos, and also gives you some nice extra AP.
Void Staff isnt a must, but helps a lot as it REALLY improves your magic penetration and because of that, your damage output.
Banshee Veil IS NOT A MUST helps against stuns and thats pretty much it, so if you think you need some extra armor, or AP, or Spell Vamp, or anything else, feel free to swap any other item with the Veil.

Now is the time when people says "OMG he doesnt improve Pillar!". Yeah, i dont. The buff pillar of fire gets from your passive is enough to hurt early game, and also leveling Pillar does not improve its cooldown, only damage and mana cost. This way, i find conflagration a much better spell early game, it does very nice damage, may be used into creeps that have already been cast ablaze to hit enemies far away and farm quickly. Sear is a must so you can stun but thats all. The 1 level I put in it is just to be able to stun.

Now, different from most people i like to start any fight with brand with Conflagration or the great pyroclasm, this way my enemies are slowed and i can properly place my sear, after sear i go for pillar of flame and than my conflagration is back to be used again.
The key to a easy kill is Conflagration-3s-Sear-2s-Pillar of Flame-Pyroclasm-Conflagration
THE KEY TO MAX DAMAGE is to let you passive work, it takes 2% of targets max hp each second for 4 seconds, in other words, if you use each of your spells with a gap of 3 seconds between each of them you will take 15% of your enemies hp only with it.

Flash and Ignite, AND THATS ALL!
Ignite is a must, as your passive is almost a second ignite, you will largely improve your damage, and it will give you easy kills against heros like Tryn and Fiddle.
Flash, what to say, easy to rush into enemies, easy to leave, easy to dodge skills, easy way out of a tower dive. USE IT OFFENSIVELY!

Mainly, no hero is easier to kill than Tryndamere, Brands passive eats his life, your extra move speed, your slow and stun, makes him quite useless against you and when you put ignite in the dance he wont be able to heal properly.
Heroes like Le Blanc, GP, Fiddle, yorick, Shaco, eve, and every squishy lil boy that appears near you are very easy kills, mainly because once you stun them, you can damage REALLY HARD and the will hardly be able to flee. If the Blink away from you, blink behind them, and as you have slowed them you will be able to continue your casts.

try to hit your enemies with pillar of flames or conflagration from time to time so your passive makes your enemies use their mana pots quickly and oblige them to leave the lane.
if any enemie stays near his tower with very low life and thinks you wont hit him cause you are afraid of the tower, KILL HIM! quickly send conflagration and sear or pillar of flames and sear, ignite him and flash out of there.

Pillar of flame, conflagration, pyroclasm and sear, thats the way you do in team fights.
pillar of fire will damage and slow everyone, conflagration will damage everybody a secontime, pyroclasm will be sent into fleeing enemies and sear will be spammed into the mess.
DO NOT INITIATE!

JUNGLING: NOT POSSIBLE!
Only mid-late game you will be able to effectively kill wraiths and get buffs fast, so dont even try soon game to go into the jungle!
Creeping: Quick and easy
Farm a lot. use your pillar of flame and your conflagration to rapidly kill all the minion mages and maybe some of the melee minions too. Use the canon minion as a irradiator of conflagration to both the melee and mage minions.

This build allows you to spam conflagration in the start of the game, dealing very large damage, makes you a aoe hitter and a applier of cc, stun and slow.
The extra move speed and the slow you hit makes you a very boring mage to kill and a very strong mage to chase for enemies.
Using flash offensively will give you MANY kills, even if you are killed sometimes you will aways get your kill before your death.
The ignite if used correctly with your passive will eat your enemies alive and make you kill even from very far away as they run from you.
Move quickly to place your skills and stuns, thats the way of my Brand!

I hope you try this build and give me some feedback!
I really think this is the way to glory with this awsome hero.
Sorry for my english!