Brand, obviously, is an ap character. And, like most, he is fairly slow. Thus is the reason getting Rylai's Crystal Sceptor early game works well for him. He gets a **** load of health, and all his skills will slow any targets chasing you or vice versa. This, combined with his stun gives him a very good chance of getting to or away from enemies. His items give him a very large amount of ability power, good magic penetration, and a decent amount of health and defense. Additionally, there are a lot of alternatives you may prefer and/or need as opposed to the specific build that I have. Which is why I put an Alternative Build attached to this one. That way, you can change around the few differences I put until you have the perfect build for the perfect situation. For example, if all your enemies are tanky characters (Shen, Gragas, Darius, etc.) and your team is pretty squishy and you're dying a lot, you may want to get Zhonya's Hourglass before Will of the Ancients.

All in all, this build works very well for me every time I use it, and hopefully it'll work for you too!

Brand, being an ap character, could use some ap runes. I have seen people use health runes and defense runes mixed in with ap, but in my experience, if you know how to move around and use him well, you won't need the defense runes. Rylai's Crystal Sceptor and Zhonya's Frozen Hourglass gives you enough health and defense as long as you're smart in how you move.

I personally prefer Heal as a summoner spell over ignite. However, if you do have ignite, i strongly recommend taking one point from Mental Force in the Offense Masteries and putting it instead into Summoner's Wrath. As for the rest, they all give Brand much needed things such as ap, mana regen, etc. However, you may prefer to have 21 points in Utility than Offense (I recommend still having the ratio of 21/9) If you do set up Masteries this way, see my other Alternative Build and I have what Masteries I think would be best if you do choose to have 21 in Utility.

Brand, being a slow character, needs some degree of speed. Most of his skills have a good range, but if someone such as Tryndamere is chasing you, you'll never get away without boots (most of the time). That's why I like to get boots first for Brand (obviously you would get Sorcerer's Boots for his boots). Next, Brand is very good with health, so I recommend getting Rylai's Crystal Sceptor afterwards. I recommend getting Amplifying Tome so you have some ap then Giant's Belt, then finishing the item.

If you are dying a lot and having a hard time staying alive, it is usually a good idea to get Zhonya's Hourglass before Will of the Ancients. Check my Alternative Build for specific item listing.

Flame Pillar does a lot of damage when the target is ignited. That's why I like to max that out first. Sear is mainly used for stunning, so you should get it at level two, but don't put anymore points in it until after you've maxed out everything else.

Brand is a good solo, but in my opinion, better with a partner. His ultimate tends to be more useful since it bounces back from enemies.

If all goes well, you'll have a **** load of ap, good health, and decent defense. This, combined with using Brand well will make it very hard to kill you.

Any similarities between this build and another build are completely coincidental.