Hi there! I am Firesage Demon, this is my first guide on MOBAfire, and Brand is most definitely my favorite champ, and I almost exclusively played him from lv. 10 to lv. 30. Brand is an awesome high-burst champ with great AOE and single target damage. He can walk up to an enemy, throw out his spells, and walk away with a dead enemy behind him. He is a little underplayed, however, that doesn't mean that he is a bad champion.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!1!1!!1!
I am not the end-all-be-all on how to play and build Brand. Don't always exactly get what I say, this is just what works with me. When you feel comfortable with him, Experiment! Thats what I did! I used to always rush Morellonomicon, I used to rush Rylais and Liandry's, I tried a lot of things. If you find something you like, go ahead and do it

Pros :) +Great Burst +Good AOE damage +Looks freakin' awesome +Tank shredding passive

Cons :( -No escape ability -Ult can be inconsistant -Bad dance -Needs most of his abilities to kill a target.

---

Offensive

I take points into Sorcery in order to deal with cooldowns, and I put a point into Butcher for ease of last hitting. If you think you can last hit effectively without it, feel free to trade it out for something else. At first glance it can seem negligible but it can add up. Mental Force , Arcane Mastery, and Archmage all give delicious AP, for ease of making your opponents burn to death. I get a point in Arcane Blade for ease of last hitting, and to make auto attack harass a little more effective. Devastating Strikes help negate the enemy's armor, and Havoc just gives you raw damage. Dangerous Game Allows you to get out alive when you make a kill.

Utility

I grab 3 points into Meditation , because it gives me good amounts of mana, and it has good synergy with the passive of Chalice of Harmony. I also get a point into Scout because it allows me to use my Stealth Ward over more walls. I have a point in Alchemist and Culinary Master because it allows me to get more bang out of my buck on potions.

This is just a basic rune sheet for AP casters. I use AP quints for more damage, Magic Pen marks, to negate some of their resist, Magic Resist glyphs to help come out on top from any trades I come into in lane, and health per level seals for survivability.

Alternative Runes

If you want, feel free to take some of the alternatives

If you can live without the armor, feel free to take these runes instead

If you are against an AD mid (Zed, Talon, Etc.) These are a must.

To be honest, I have never tried these quints, but I have heard that having one of them ans 2 flat AP quints increases your burst more than 3 flat AP quints

If you think you can live without the flat MR, take them. I, however, prefer the MR glyphs.

To be honest, there are no alternatives that can beat these. Just take them.

Brand's kit is what makes him... Well... Brand!

Blaze (Passive)

Blaze is a good passive, it is super useful and has gotten me more than a few kills. The main purpose of it (At least, how I use it) is for the bonus affects on your abilities. Tips and Tricks - Be careful which ability to use first to apply Blaze, as that ability won't have the bonus - If you can, wait a small amount between abilities to increase the damage they take from Blaze

Sear (Q)

This is a key part of Brand's kit. It is a skillshot, that will stun if they have Blaze. It is super useful for landing your Pillar of Flame, your Pyroclasm, and for holding your target in place for your allies to take a turn killing it. Max this Second for maximum stuns and damage. Tips and Tricks - Try practicing landing this, as it is a vital part of your combo. - If you have trouble landing Pillar of Flame, try stunning them with this first

Pillar of Flame (W)

This is Brand's bread and butter. After a short delay a pillar of flame (As the name implies) will burst up dealing damage. You can use this to poke, to clear creep waves, to go for the kill, to spread Blaze to many targets, and much more. Tips and Tricks - It has a short delay, so try to lead it a little - In a teamfight, have it hit as many opponents as you can - Keep in mind that it does more damage if the target has Blaze

Conflagration (E)

Conflagration is a targeted attack. It does damage to the enemy, and surrounding enemies if the target is ablaze. It is great for harassing and clearing waves. It's main purpose, however, is for AOE damage and applying Blaze. Max this third, as the damage increments are smaller that his other abilities. Tips and Tricks - In most cases, use this first in combos, as it has the least noticeable Blaze bonus on single targets. - A Pillar of Flame followed up by by Conflagration can easily clear a wave.

Pyroclasm (Ult)

Pyroclasm is Brand's Ultimate Ability, and is truly Ultimate. At first glance, it is nothing special. It just seems like a hyped up version of Ryze's Spell Flux. However, it is much more. If you throw in a Pillar of Flame into a bunched up enemy team and through this in, it can get most of them to at least half health. Just make sure not to use this in a way that it will only hit a champion 1 time, as it does not do that much damage unless it hits multiple times Tips and Tricks - If an enemy is just escaping out of range, use this on a nearby minion with Blaze so it will bounce to them - It will almost always go to waste if it doesn't bounce, or if it hits once then goes to minions only, so keep that in place when casting it.

First 3 Points

First Point

I take Pillar of Flame for a few reasons at Level 1. First, it is a skillshot, so I don't have to face-check bushes. Second, it can be used to hit multiple enemies in the case you get in a level 1 skirmish while leashing. Third, you can use it to zone so you can get level 2 before your enemy.

---

Second Point

I take Sear at level 2 for a few reasons. One of the major ones is that it is always good to take one's CC ability as early as possible, in case your jungler is nice to you or they try to tower dive. It is also good for poke.

---

Third Point

I take Conflagration at level 3 to get the Blaze bonus from my abilities. It also lets me get off my full Pre 6 combo ASAP to scare off my opponent, or even get first blood.

Point Order

=> => =>

---

I put points into this for 2 reasons.
1. The higher priority abilities get more damage per level
2. The higher priority abilities are more useful

The items! The main reason people look at MOBAfire guides.

Starting Items

This is the start that I almost always take. The 15 bonus AP is good for early damage. The mana regen and Doran's Ring passive is great for mana sustain. The potions are also for good sustain. If you find you don't need the mana potion, feel free to trade it out for another health potion.

Early Items

You preferably want to get these items by your first or second back. The Chalice of Harmony is great for magic resist against other AP mids and should almost completely eliminate mana problems, and the Boots allow you to move faster to dodge skillshots. These are nice, cheap items that give a lot of bonus.

Core Items

These are your core items, that you USUALLY want to buy every game. Emphasis on usually because everything is situational. The Rabadon's Deathcap will give you TONS of ap, and improves the cost efficiency of other items. Buy this, 'nuff said. Sorcerer's Shoes you should get for obvious reasons. The movespeed helps you run away better, chase better, reposition better, and (duh) get around quicker. It is also the cheapest source of MPen in the game, giving you MOAR DAMAGES! Zhonya's Hourglass is a fantastic item on all AP's, and Brand is no exception. The massive amounts of AP is fantastic, and helps you burn enemies do dust more easily. The 50 Armor is great for surviving AD's, and just minion harass. The active (If you remember it) will save your sorry hide against high burst and focus. Athene's Unholy Grail is a great item overall. It gives you 40 MR, which is great against enemies magic damage (which most AD champs even do). The AP is great as it helps you kill people better. But the main thing you want this item for is the 20% CDR and the Mana Regen. That lets you spam your spells all the time. By the time I get this, I never rum OOM (Out of Mana).

Situational

Use your best judgement on what to get.

Stacking Doran's Rings

Void Staff

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Liandry's Torment

Deathfire Grasp

Morellonomicon

Burn Build

The Burn Build is to maximize your passive, Blaze. The reason it works is because Liandry's deals double damage, as your Rylai's makes all of your abilities slow. Liandry's also gets reapplied every tick of your passive. So ba-blam, you get a grand total of 21% current HP and 8% Max HP every spell cast, if my math checks out. You also grab a Void Staff early to let your non-scaling % damage do even more damage. The Rylai's and Liandry's also gives you plenty of health to stay alive. Do this build for more poke/siege games, and when they have a lot of health to burn down.

The Trinkets

These are the trinkets, which you can only have one of. Take whichever trinket you want. The Stealth Ward gives you vision and prevent ganks in the laning phase. The Sweeping Lens gives you the ability to remove opponent's wards to allow successful ganks on him, and the Scrying Orb allows you to check on Dragon, Baron, Buffs, and to not facecheck bushes. It all depends on your personal preference. I like the Stealth Ward but again, I am not God, so I do not have the perfect answer.

Early Game/Laning Phase

Be aggressive, you have a strong laning presence and are a tough lane bully. Throw out your Pillar of Flame to whittle them down, while dodging skillshots. Be careful not to spam it too much, as you may run OOM and be a sitting duck, and don't be so absorbed in harassing that you don't farm. If they keep easily dodging your Pillars, don't waste the mana on it unless you use a Conflagration + Sear Combo to stun them. Always watch out for ganks, as you are squishy and immobile, therefore a prime target for junglers. If you get ganked, try to stun whoever will get all up in your grill and CC you, while dealing damage with Pillar of Flame. If they join up together, they can act as catalysts for your Pyroclasm, possibly granting you a double. Also, if you are pushed up, and the enemy bot lane pushed up, roam. You have strong AOE damage, and can snowball the other lanes too.

Teamfights

Don't die or get caught out, as especially late game, a death can lead to a 4v5 teamfight, which could potentially lose you the game. Before a fight, remember to poke with your Pillar of Flame. If the other team is low, they will die easier in teamfights (Amazing, right? People with low health die.) Throw out all your spells when fights break out (The combos are below) to deal the most possible damage, and when that big bad bruiser that deal lots of damage and are tanky enough for you not to be able to instagib them comes when your CD's' are down, use your Zhonya's Hourglassand hope that your teammates can peel them off long enough for you to stun them again.

Combos

Brand is a very combo reliant champ. He requires almost all of his abilities to kill. Fortunately, they are all on a similar CD.

The Harassing Combos

=> =>

This is for getting your opponents low, or possibly getting first blood, when there are no minions between you. You lead off with Conflagration to apply Blaze, then you go to Sear for the stun, then you go to a Pillar of Flame for the big damages.

---

=>

This is the harass combo for when there are minions in the way, and you cant land Sear. Again, you lead of with Conflagration to apply Blaze, but then go right into Pillar of Flame

Kill Combos

The 1v1 All In

=> => =>
This is how you go in for the kill. Try a few harass combos first to get them low when you are laning. You lead off with Conflagration to apply Blaze, go into Sear for the stun, Pillar of Flame for the damages, and Pyroclasm for maximum murderage.

---

The Teamfight All In

=> => =>
This time I lead in with Pillar of Flame to hit and apply Blaze to as many targets as possible. I then go in with a Conflagration to hit everyone more. I then use Pyroclasm before they split apart to hit everyone. I then try to use Sear on a high priority target so they can't escape the wrath of the rest of my team.

---

The Teamfight All In v2

=> => =>
This is the combo to maximize your multi-target damage, but this time, there is no stun. You lead in with Sear To deal damage to one target and, more importantly, apply Blaze. You then use Conflagration to get the Blaze to everyone, and then a Pillar of Flame for tons of damage, enough to make Phreak proud. You then finish off the squishies and critically wound the tanks with a Pyroclasm

Here are some general tips that should help you whoever you play

MAP AWARENESS

Look at your freakin' map at least every 15 seconds. Just do it. It can help if another laner doesn't call MIA.

PINGING AND COMMUNICATION

You have smart pings. Use it. Call MIA if your enemy is MIA for more than 10 seconds, Call omw's ping danger, etc. Let your team know your every move.

WARDING

Buy a ward save a life. Your trinket is not enough. After the laning phase, make sure you have Baron and Dragon warded, along with buffs, jungle entrances, and anywhere else you feel you need vision in. You shouldn't burden the warding solely on the support

USING YOUR ACTIVES

I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone, even myself, die because they forgot to use their Zhonya's. You may want to rebind your active slot items and always move it into said slot. Many people use 2 as their active item slot, but I for one rebound mine to T.

SMARTCASTING

It takes some getting used to, but use smartcasting. One good way of getting adjusted, that I still use is range indicators. It helps. Trust me, I'm a random dude on the internet that you don't know.

So, there you have it! You now know the basics of Brand. The only real way of TRULY being an expert at any character, however, is to play them. Feel free to rate up or down, but if you rate down (Or up, whatever) PLEASE let me know why. Your feedback helps me get new ideas.

Just like pretty much every guide on MOBAfire, jhoijhoi's guide guide helped my guide not look whatever comes out when a zombie poops. Below is what my guide would look like without it

-4/26/14- Changed Seals (Due to 4.5 rune re balance), Moved Zhonya's Hourglass to core and Rylai's Crystal Scepter to situationl
-6/14/14 Changed Gameplay section