So, you wanna set things on fire eh? Don't worry your little arson head, you're on your way. Like many people when Brand was first released, I flocked to the idea of finally having another AP nuker, and my jaw literally dropped when I saw . I mean, % HP damage? I wondered how it wouldn't be OP. So after buying the new guy, I quickly started deducing which itemset and skill order would be best for him.

Pros:

Great nuking ability
Amazing farmer
Helpful in teamfights with stun/aura
Easy and diverse combos

Cons:

Squishy as hell
Very mana hungry early game

The runes I use for Brand are a typical caster set.

because we want to keep our damage output high

Brand's biggest issue especially with this build is going to be mana. Between these runes and clarity, it shouldn't be an issue so long as you're playing smart.

any mix you want really, Brand's cooldowns aren't that high, but lowering them and allowing you to nuke more steadily is never a bad thing.

Because a dead brand, is a sad brand.

Masteries are again, standard caster. 9/0/21 will keep your mana high, and your cooldowns as low as possible. That and the ability to use clarity more often will allow you to play more aggressive in the laning phase.

For summoner spells, I don't think you can do any better than and .

allows us to not only return to our lane faster, making buying items less of a problem for our towers, but also will allow you to defend towers in trouble, help out a lane push, cover for another teammate, the list goes on and on.

is essential for brand seeing how much mana the beast consumes. It will come in handy throughout the entire game, just be sure to improve it via your masteries, so teammates will love you more.

Now to the meat and bones of this guide. Too often I see Brand players rushing a While a phenomenal item, I feel that it is too expensive to make it your first purchase, and it's extra 30% AP doesn't really benefit you unless you HAVE THE AP TO MAKE IT WORTHWHILE! Remember, the main thing we want to avoid is playing a character that has to teleport back to base every 2 minutes because they're out of health or mana.

Start yourself off with one of these. It contains everything a growing flame needs between the extra health, AP and mana regen.

On your first trip back, assuming you've farmed well, you should pick up your and an or two if you can afford it. Boosting your AP early is essential, and we want to work towards the ability to stay out wreaking havoc on our enemies. A pyromaniac sitting in his base is of no use to anyone.

If your opponents are giving you some grief, feel free to tele back and upgrade your to a . If you're burninating the countryside, move on to the next step.

is the key item for this build. Between it's spellvamp, AP and aura, you'll not only be able to destroy opponents and creeps alike, but you'll also be able to stay out for longer, not worrying about your HP as much, as well as giving a nice boost to your team.

Next we work towards our lovely . The ability to slow your opponents as well as making yourself less squishy is a deadly mix.

NOW we can work on making Brand a force to be feared. will give you a nice healthy boost to your AP, especially taking into account that we've added 175 AP from our previous items.

Most games won't last this long, but if they do, you'll want to make yourself more rapid fire so to speak. will give you a nice boost to AP, some more mana regen, and let's not forget that lovely cooldown reduction.

That MR stacking Mordekaiser got you down? Get yourself a and watch as he all of a sudden considers you a threat again!



BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STACKING ITEMZ?

No. Sit down before you hurt yourself. Yes, everyone loves to get 20 stacks on their and rape the entire map, but when was the last time you saw someone in a competitive game, playing a character with no natural escape mechanism (aside from a combo stun) running around with 20 stacks NOT get focused down in 2 seconds? That's right, you don't see that. So leave the stacking items where they belong, in the Co-op games.

Hopefully now I'll have the pleasure of seeing more people playing Brand who actually take . Don't deny yourself the pleasure of setting everyone on fire, and making the opposing team think your whole team must be stacking .

I will be adding more sections to this guide as time goes on, but at least it's a start.