Hey guys, this guide will go in-depth on the specifics of Brand's game-play. I made this build to outline the basic things that are essential to playing Brand. I find that all to often I see people that are not playing Brand to his full potential and because of this, I have made this build to help anyone that seeks it. This guide's purpose is solely to enlighten people on how to play Brand better. I do not guarantee that you will be dominating with Brand as soon as you read this build, but I do guarantee that with the help of this build and practice, you will no doubt become a better Brand player. I am completely open to constructive criticism and as I am only a beginner at making guides, things may not be perfect.

Core Items

The best boots for Brand due to the great magic penetration you get from them.
More AP=Good for Brand.
Gives 500 health for more survivability and a great slow to all your abilities for chases and getaways.
Gives a large amount of mana/mana regen to keep you running.
Gives the magic penetration you need to make the enemy feel your flames even more.

6Th Item

An amazing item for Brand due to its high CD reduction, AP boost, and mana regen.
A great item in that it gives you 25% Spell Vamp to not only you, but your team as well and keeps you healed up
Useful for lane sustainability whilst leveling due to the Catalyst's effect of giving hp/mana regen on level up. Also provides a large amount of health and mana for more survivability.
A good item in that it provides extra magic resistance and 20 extra magic penetration to all nearby enemies.
Get this item if the enemy team is caster-heavy for the extra survivability.
Get this item if the enemy team has a mean melee carry or if you desire the 2 second invulnerability to survive being focused.

Pros

Great early game harass
Amazing damage throughout the game
AoE skills for easy farming

Cons

Often focused first
Squishy

Early Game

I start out by buying a Doran's Ring (Often I keep this item until mid-late game, or until I need the space/money in my inventory). To dominate a lane with Brand, do not be afraid to make the enemy pay for approaching your minions. As soon as you see the enemy approach your minions, land a Pillar of Flame on them. When using Pillar of Flame, make sure you place it in accordance to the enemy's movement (i.e. Always place it slightly in front of them. If they are not moving at all, place it on top of them but more so behind them because of a player's natural tendency to move back if they see a skill being used.) After you have landed your Pillar of Flame, hit them with your normal attacks a couple of times until they back off completely. Do this continuously to deny the enemy minion kills and XP. After getting a skill point in Sear, position yourself so that there are no minions in the path between you and your enemy and place a Pillar of Flame on them followed by a Sear to stun. When placing Sear, make sure you always lead your target. Watch your enemy and see how fast he/she moves to get a better idea on how far you should place your Sear in order to land it.

Mid Game

You should now have at least your , , and have started building towards your . Keeping your enemy properly pushed back, you should have done significant damage to the enemy tower. Often, when I am hitting a tower, the enemy will approach you to try and keep you off. As they approach put a Pillar of Flame in front/on top of them and immediately walk away out of tower range. This will make the enemy even more uneasy of protecting the tower and enable you to do more damage to it. When fighting enemy champions that have abilities that enable them to move from one place to another very quickly (i.e. Kassadin/Lee Sin/Jax/Akali etc.) place a Conflagration on them instead. When they jump onto you or a teammate, immediately land a onto them to stun followed by a . This will do significant damage to them and make them think twice of attacking again.

Late Game

By this time you should have most if not all the Core items, and have started building towards the optional item of your choice. Team fights will be often now and you should be aware that because of your high damage output, you will be focused first. If playing with random people, make sure to let them know that you must be protected. Do not be afraid to give instructions on the formation of your group if you are advancing or defending. Always be aware of enemy positions so you are not jumped. When your team engages the enemy, focus the enemy carries with your stun combo. Hit them with to spread the Ablaze DoT to nearby enemies. If is off CD by this time, use it again on the the enemies most grouped up. If it is not off CD, quickly use your Ult again on the Carry you are nuking down. Avoid using your Ult if there are enemy minions nearby or if the enemy team is spread out. Repeat your Stun combo and continue to use to keep the entire enemy team ablaze. The fights should be very short and you should be used to using your abilities in very quick succession in order to catch enemy carries by surprise if they are out of position or over-extended.

Some recent games of mine as some evidence of this guide working.

I hope you guys find this guide informative and useful and see how powerful Brand is when played well. Again I am always open to constructive criticism and would like to hear from fellow Brand players.