Welcome to my (JEFFY40HANDS) guide to the newest champ in the league, Brand The Burning Vengence.

He's got some great team fight potential, with his numerous AoE abilities. He is pure AP nuke and as such is considered a glass cannon. In this guide I hope to give you all a few different ways to build and play this new champ.

In this section I will give you brief explanations of my views on this initial build and what the pros and cons are for this champ and the build used in conjunction with Brand.

PROS/CONSPros For Brand:-Superb harass with Pillar of Flame and Conflagrate Conflagrate
-Great auto attack animation, quick and clear making last hitting easier.
-Great burst damage
-Great at farming
-Great lane presence ((easy to intimidate an opposing team's mid laner becase of Brand's combos))
-His own mini ignite as a passive ability (Ablaze) Ablaze

Cons For Brand:
-Though conservative play will protect you from going out of mana early game once you hit mid and late game you will find yourself at a disadvantage. Your mana pool (without items for mana) will disappear before a team fight begins. Brand thrives as a "poke" champ and as such requires you to harass often
-Requires constant awareness due to his damage coming from chaining his abilities together you need the right combo for the right situation.
-Very cool down dependent
-Ultimate relies on multiple targets to become effective.

PROS/CONS FOR THIS BUILD

PROS For These Builds:
-Provides a strong early game
-Solves Brand's late game mana issues
-Has room for options depending on how successful you're being
-Provides a solid amount of HP and AP making you less of a glass cannon

CONS For This Build (Depending on your concept of an AP champ):
-If followed to the "T" you won't hit the standard AP nuker quota of 900AP or bust
-Focuses on a strong early game and plateus turning you into more of a support/nuke (support through harass with a nuke to weaken enemy champs.) Not saying you won't be doing a lot of damage you will, but compared to Annie and Anivia who are pure nukeage you can't compete. But your combos make up for it with lots of AoE damage.
-Can be a slow starting build. Aim to finish Rylai's by ~9-12

MASTERIES
A standard 9/0/21 caster set up. Points in Improved Flash which can be supplemented for Improved Ghost if you take ghost over flash.

RUNE BUILD:
Magic Pen marks-This will give you an edge over most champs early game. Lets your spells hit harder than if you had no magic pen.
MP5 Seals- To aid in your early game, if you feel agressive these will let you cast more spells over time.
AP per level Glyphs- Gives you a solid base to build from with AP. Letting you have an even greater lane presence. Your spell will hit for more than an opponent without the extra AP.
Flat AP Quints- To help you get off the starting blocks even faster. With the AP per level glyphs you'll have quite a nice early game which will hopefully improve your late game.

SUMMONER SPELLS:
Though I suggest Flash /Ignite . Other viable summoner spells for Brand include
Ghost /Teleport
I primarily choose flash ignite because it has happened a lot where someone is escaping in a team fight and they are just out of range for a finisher. Flash solves that problem if you're coordinated. Also allows you to blink over walls and get solid objects between you and your pursuer(s) vs distance which can be overcome by something like Ezreal's ulti if all you do is run in a straight line you'll get dropped. Flash allows you to change direction/positioning avoiding such an attack.

In this section I will give a basic description of each of Brand's abilities as well as a practical explanation for each. I use a "priority" ranking system Priority 1 is a "MUST LEVEL" rating whereas 4 is a "Can be leveled but isn't essential to have immediately". I implement this to explain how or why I make my choices and where I rank each spells purpose in terms of usefulness during early, mid, late game.

AblazeAblaze (Passive): Ignites a target dealing 4% of max health for 4 seconds. Also allows for Brand's abilities to generate a bonus effect.

(Priority 3)Sear: This is a straight line skill shot. Good range medium damage, primarily used for it's secondary affect when a target is ablaze. Ablazed targets are stunned for 2 seconds. This is a flat stun and does not increase in duration as you level the skill. Great for 1v1 scenarios or if you're being chased. It can be hard to line up if creeps are in the way but if you're in the middle of no where. Conflag+Scorch+Flame Pillar will take a chunk out of your opponent. Just make sure to keep distance after they're stunned. Same set up if you're being chased.

(Priority 1 or 2) Pillar of Flame: A hard hitting AoE nuke. Has ~1 second delay before it hits so you'll have to lead enemies. Great for clearing waves of creeps or getting your Ablaze spread to a whole enemy team. Ablaze Effect: Targets who are already abalaze take 25% bonus damage from Pillar of Flame. I rank this 1 or 2 because it depends on your intentions. If you want to farm creeps early game then you can take Pillar of Flame First.

Conflagrate(Priority 1 or 2) Conflagrate: One of the most interesting/efficient spells in the game. A single/multi target instant nuke. Very great harass spell, great range an an awesome secondary affect. Ablaze Effect: Target already ablaze when hit by conflag causes AoE damage to nearby enemies (also sets them abalaze as well)

(Priority 1) Pyroclasm: Relatively weak AP nuke however it is the spells ability to bounce that makes it so amazing. I've gotten double/triple kills because champions are clumped together escaping or fighting. The main issues is creeps getting hit instead of champs but beyond that getting 5 bounces of 300-600 damage is very satisfactory. When a target is ablaze this makes Pyroclasm travel faster and faster with each successive hit.

Brand is a rather straight forward mid champ. His cast animation for his auto-attack is quick so last hitting is a breeze. Focus on last hitting and only harass your opponent if an opportunity presents itself. If your opponent is a bit skiddish then playing aggressive can't hurt all that much but essentially you'll focus on denying your opponent vs killing them outright.

Early game you simply rely on auto attacks to last hit creeps saving your spells for the enemy champ. Conflag will be your primary harass, once you get Pillar of Flame however it (your now 2-button spell combo) becomes a very effective deterrent to your enemy.

You should lead with flame pillar however hitting your enemy with conflag before flame pillar pops. This means your opponent gets the bonus 25% damage from being ablaze. It takes some practice to lead your opponent or predict their movement. Most players tend to retreat when an enemy presses forward, use this to your advantage. Lay your Pillar of Flame behind you enemy if in range. They'll walk right into it (hopefully).

By level 5 you have Sear and his is where the fun begins. If there aren't any creeps in between your opponent and you then you can probably score a kill. Lead with Conflag then Sear and then flame pillar. If you had proper timing and hit you enemy with Sear, stunning them you just nuked ~75% of their HP (If they weren't low enough already) this is where Ignite comes in (if you took the summoner spell) Sear should come off cool down just in time for you to throw another attack at you opponent hopefully finishing them. Often enough it is Brand's passive Ablaze which does the last few points of damage to a target.

Mid Game by level 9-12 you should obtain your Rylai's Crystal Scepter or Rod of Ages. Rylai's give you a nice chase mechanic because every one of your spells now has a slow attached to it. Team-fights start breaking out you simply sit on the fringe and nuke an opposing team's carry. Save your ultimate for the end of the team-fight. OR as you see opponent's retreating.

Late Game-Stick to your team like glue, never be the first one in to a fight be sure to be the first one out if possible. Brand can clear creeps well but pushing is not one of his stronger traits. You should let your team mates push and simply back them up.

If someone else takes mid don't worry. Brand has some great lane abilities too. You can synergize well with another ranged champ like Teemo , Lux , Sona ,Morgana anyone with a solid CC/disable. Teemo's blinding dart, Lux's slow or snare, Morgana's Snare.

But Brand also works well with some melee champs too. Blitz , Shen , Rammus , Nocturne , Sion . These champs have a solid CC between stuns, snares, fear, and taunts as well which will allow you as Brand a better chance at using combos. Blitz Rocket grab, knock up into Conflag+Sear+Pillar of Flame. Sions stun into Conflag+Sear+Pillar of Flame. The lane comps go on it just depends on how good at coordinating attacks you are.

Your primary focus in the lane is to help deny your opponents. As a ranged nuke you have some superb harass at your disposal. With the right lane partner you can almost completely deny your opponent's ability to earn gold which puts them at a defecit early on. Focus on last hitting with auto attacks and be sure to zone your opponent properly. Play heads up though and be aware your enemies may call for help to gank your lane at some point.

The first build focuses on survival/mana. It's for those that may be new to brand and don't have a solid understanding of his playstyle. It focuses on Rod Of Ages and Archangel's Staff as it's core items. 1 for AP/HP the other for AP/Mana. With those two items at it's core you can build off of the,. I recommend early game (because both items are rather inexpensive) You grab the Catalyst Protector and Tear of The Goddess ASAP. Build your RoA then Sorc Boots and so on allowing Tear of The Goddess to reach it's full potential on your mana pool before turning it into the Aracngel's Staff. With those two items you have a solid early game with the beginings of an improved late game.

The second build is for more experienced players. It was constructed on the assumption you've been playing Brand and understand his mechanics. You know how to use his abilities and when so that you don't waste mana. You want to bring his AP nuke potential to the cieling and enjoy trying to build Stacks of Mejai's Soulstealer. This build centers around Rylai's Crystal Scepter/Mejai Soul Stealer/Randoin's Deathcap. It's all about the AP with some survivability and CDR. It's meant for those who enjoy seeing their names displayed with the words QUADRA KILL, PENTA KILL, being said in the background.


Both builds start with a Doran's Ring. This item is meant to be sold later and then used for a different item. Perhaps you want more Magic Pen, or need a defensive item. The options are only limited by your situation.

Both builds vary in some way but that does not mean you can't take the first build and change Claritiy/Ghost for Flash/Ignite and still be successful. Builds are always open for changes based on the situation. If you can't get Mejai's stacking then drop it for something else. Use your brain these builds don't need to be followed exactly.

In closing I'd like to thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy playing as Brand and I hope this build brings you success. There is always the skill factor involved but when one person is playing Brand on the opposing team and is using Lichbane I hope you take a moment and remember this build and notice I wasn't silly enough to put such an item on this champ. And then of course I hope you nuke him to Hell and back as he tries to Autohit you with his Lichbaned auto attack. :P