So you managed to pick up this champ after seeing him nuking your entire team with 4 abilities. Do you want to learn how to play this champ? Well, you came to the right place.

Hello, I'm DeusSciMachina, a Used-To Brand One-Trick that managed to get to Silver 2 in Season 10. Sure that's not impressive, but I managed to create a build that no one utilized for Brand and climbed to my peak with a high winrate, most damage and carried games, with this build.

Brand's Passive: Blaze:

Brand's Abilities do 3% max health damage over 4 seconds. This Passive can stack up to 3 times leading to 9% max health damage over 4 seconds. Abilities that hit an Ablazed target will have an empowered effect. Additionally, a large monster or enemy champion with 3 stacks of Blaze will be visible and explodes after 2 seconds. The detonation can deal up to 10%-14%(based on level) +2% every 100 AP as magic damage.

This passive is what makes people hate this champ,at lvl 3, Brand can do 19.5% of your max health when he lands a full combo. Additionally, the passive detonation stays even when the target has been killed leading to their explosion injuring the enemy. Although not mentioned, the passive detonation counts as a stack of Blaze, so as another enemy with 2 stacks of Blaze is hit with the detonation, they too will then detonate.

Brand's Q Ability: Sear

Brand launches a Fireball in the direction the ability is casted. This ability is basically a projectile that burns the target with Blaze. However when you hit a target with Blaze it does the folloiwng: The Ablazed target is stunned for 1.5 seconds. This is Brand's primary CC and one of the most missed skillshot for Brand players.

Brand's W Ability: Pillar of Flame:
After a short delay, the targetted area will erupt in flames dealing magic damage to enemies hit. This ability is Brand's ability to waveclear and is his highest damage dealing ability. When damaging an enemy with Ablaze with this ability, this ability does 25% bonus damage.

Brand's E Ability: Conflagration:
This is a point and click ability that ignites the target and all enemies within a 300 unit radius. When the ability is casted on an Ablazed target, the range is extended to 600 units. The empowered effect is what allows Brand to comfortably poke his enemies. This is also typically the ability that you start most of your combos with as Brand which will be discussed in a later segment.


Brand's Ultimate Ability: Pyroclasm:
Brand launches a fireball that bounces between nearby enemies and Brand up to four times. When an enemy is Ablaze, the ability slows for 0.25 seconds and can affect the target more than once. This is Brand's signature ability that has made people question if Brand is a balanced champion in the support role.

Full Damage Runes:

Dark Harvest: Standard rune on Brand as he can easily proc DH with passive or in lane due to reasonable bursts from abilities. Scales well into late game making killing squishies easy.

Cheap Shot: Allows True damage from full ability combos, i.e E-Q-W. also allows better damage during lane.

Eyeball Collection: Up to 20 bonus AP when Capped from takedowns.

Presence of Mind: Allows Brand to continue harassing laners as long as Autos or abilities land with the mana regeneration. Additionally gives Brand 12% of his mana back when he is part of a takedown.

Coup De Grace: Increased damage to enemies lower than 40% Hp. Useful during teamfights when Brand lands a 5 man ult/ 5 man passive detonation. Synergizes with Dark Harvest.

Ability Haste Shard: The 8 ability haste helps scale into late game with ability cooldowns as well as helps a bit in the early game at cost of damage. Interchangeable with Adaptive rune.

Defense runes: Change depending on matchup.

Support-Focused Brand Build

Changes from Full Damage:

Taste of Blood: Allows healing during lane when attacking an enemy champ.

Zombie Ward: Mainly for Support Brand as it helps vision control and is better alternative when you can't get kills or assists in lane. Applicable with Mid Brand if lane is lost or neutral.

Ingenious Hunter: Useful with Zhonya abuse and allows for better warding. Replaceable with Ravenous for healing or Relentless for roams.

Legend: Tenacity: Allows Brand to reduce the effects of CC to keep him from being instantly obliterated when caught out.

Brand does not have a lot of items to really itemize since you know he's on fire. So more burn seems reasonable.

These are the items you can build and the reasons:

Luden's Tempest: not efficient as Liandry's for Brand but gives the one thing that Brand needs to do well in any fight: Movement Speed. Additionally, the base magic penetration makes full comboing a squishy very satisfying as they are nuked and you don't have to wait for the burn from passive or Liandry's. Additionally the mythic passive grants 5 magic penetration per legendary item.

Liandry's Anguish: Mythic Item that burns a target for 15 +1.5% AP, and does bonus damage up to 12% based on enemy's bonus health. Also provides 5 Ability Haste to legendary items as its Mythic passive.

Riftmaker: Primarily a sustaining item that has good stats and can have you deal true damage to enemies. The item provides 2% Omnivamp per legendary item as its Mythic Passive. This allows Brand to sustain from abilities and do true Damage.

Demonic Embrace: Typically paired with Liandry's, but a good item even when not paired. The additional 1.2% max health burn over 4 seconds with bonus resistances helps Brand stay in fights.

Zhonya's Hourglass: As playing a control mage with no mobility, stasis for 2 seconds is a lifesaver(Also Assassin Kryptonite). Additionally, Brand's Ultimate can bounce off of Brand when stasis is active.

Morellonomicon: With Season 11 being infested with healing champs and sustain items, Grievous Wounds is essential to have a chance to fight against the BS champs like Riven, Aatrox, Immortal Shieldbow champs. Also gives HP which is nice.

Abyssal Mask: One of the secret items that give damage and resistances such as health and magic resist. When you hit a stun with Q, you and your teammates will do extra damage to an immobilized champion.

Rabadon's Deathcap: AP multiplier, This will increase your passive Detonation damage and your ability damage.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter: Gives AP and health, causes your abilities to slow for 30%. You can proc this passive easily with your ult, passive detonation, or with W and E.

Dark Seal: Dark Seal allows you to gain AP for every takedown, and is still an effective item when ahead despite the nerf to Dark Seal. You will most likely get a stack for Dark Seal with the amount of damage from your abilities and passive do.

Mejai's Soulstealer: OP version of Dark Seal. The item can stack up to 120 AP with 25 stacks of glory and gives Brand 10% movement speed when you have at least 10 or more stacks of glory. Albeit risky, the results are devastating when you get really fed with a fully stacked Mejai's on Brand.

Frozen Heart: An Armor Item that is great for Brand when you're against either heavy AD teams or Auto Heavy champions. The item provides ability haste, armor, and mana. All at the cost of 2500 gold. The passive is exceptional on Brand, as he is most likely to get targeted down by the enemy to prevent him from nuking their team. Frozen Heart's passive slows enemies' attack speed when they are near Brand, but the passive persists even when the player is killed, allowing you to be still useful even after death.

Anathema's Chain: A support item that allows you to mark an enemy champion and the marked champion to do less damage and lowers their tenacity by 30%. This is situational, but it works on Brand as it allows him to duel a fed enemy and keep him alive in fights to push out damage due to the bonus health from the item.

Watchful Wardstone: This item should only be bought if you're playing Brand as support. The item is particular for vision control, but once you hit LVL 13 you get the Vigilant Wardstone: The item gives you 12% bonus stats to your health, AP, AD, and your Ability Haste, making you stronger at the cost of 1100 gold.


Boots:
Sorcerer's Shoes: Is good when ahead as it provides flat magic penetration and extra damage.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity: Economical purchase that gives the CDR that Liandry's mythic passive would give but equalled out with Luden's purchase.