Brand has been a versatile pick in League of Legends season 14, with his best build path allowing him to be flexed in multiple roles. While he is traditionally a Mid Lane mage, Brand has seen a fair bit of popularity as both a Jungler and a Support.
He brings an incredible amount of damage from when he hits level 3. His passive lets him clear camps quickly, making him a great pick in the jungle. Additionally, as a laner, he comes with a lot of poke and upfront burst damage.
Brand’s kit is simple, as long as you are landing his abilities you will have a much easier time climbing up the competitive ladder. Irrespective of the role you want to pilot him in, he will consistently carry you to higher ranks.
Contents:
- Best Brand build
- Pros and Cons of playing Brand
- Brand tips and tricks for Early Game, Mid Game, and Late Game
- Brand counters, matchups, and champion synergy
League of Legends 14.11 Best Brand build (Mid/Jungle/Support)
Runes
| Domination | Sorcery | Passive Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Harvest | Manaflow Band | +8 Ability Haste |
| Cheapshot | Scorch | +9 Adaptive Damage |
| Eyeball Collection | +10-180 HP (Levels 1-18) | |
| Ultimate Hunter |
Itemization
| Core Build | Situational Items |
|---|---|
| Liandry’s Torment | Cryptbloom |
| Sorcerer’s Shoes | Blackfire Torch |
| Rylai’s Crystal Sceptre | Shadowflame |
| Zhonya’s Hourglass | Abyssal Mask |
| Rabadon’s Deathcap | Banshee’s Veil |
| Void Staff | Frozen Heart |
Spells
- Flash
- Smite/Ignite/Exhaust
Skill Unlock Priority
 Q: Sear | 3 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 18 | |||||||||||||
 W: Pillar of Flame | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | |||||||||||||
 E: Conflagration | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | |||||||||||||
 R: Pyroclasm | 6 | 11 | 16 |
Brand Pros and Cons in League of Legends Season 14
Pros:
- Mid Lane: As a solo laner Brand comes with a lot of poke and burst damage in Riot’s MOBA. His wave clear is incredible, and he can poke and push in the tower to secure plates or roam the map. He scales well into the Late Game and can start snowballing through fights if he picks up early leads.
- Jungle: Brand’s biggest strength as a Jungler is his clear speed and Drake-taking potential. He can solo most objectives early on, and once he hits level 3 his gank potential gets pretty high. He is hard to counter and his passive lets him melt through the enemy frontline during a skirmish. Especially if they are around the Drake and Baron pits.
- Support: Brand is one of the best counters to engage Supports in the Bot Lane. The amount of poke and early game harass that his kit possesses makes it very easy for his ADC to get kills or other forms of early game advantage. He is also a decent roamer and can make plays all over the map.
Cons:
- Mid Lane: Brand is very easy to gank in the Mod Lane. The lack of dashes or any other form of an escape tool makes him a sitting duck if his Flash is down. Wave control is a bit tricky with him as well as most of his abilities come with an AEO, and you will pretty much keep pushing in your lane, leaving you open to ganks.
- Jungle: Brand has a hard time catching up and staying relevant in a game if he falls too far behind early. Brand relies heavily on some of his core items and builds, so if he is down early and unable to get kills during ganks, you will be struggling a fair bit in teamfights. He not be able to burst down squishy champions.
- Support: Brand’s lack of mobility tools makes him weak against supports who come with hooks and grabs. Picks like Blitzcrank, Nautilus, Thresh, and Pyke are big threats that can make his life miserable during the laning phase. Even as a support Brand needs to stay ahead in items and experience. If Brand is behind on achieving his full build, he will struggle.
How to play Brand: Tips and Tricks for League of Legends Season 14
Early Game:
- Mid Lane: As a Mid Laner, your early game goal will be to look for advantages. Either through Tower Plates, kills, or CS leads, you will need to keep a Gold advantage over the enemy laner. Getting Brand to his early build spikes is extremely important if you want to be relevant.
- Jungle: One you hit level 3 look for plays across the map. Brand’s bread-and-butter combo of E+Q+W is incredible at getting early kills. Even if you do not manage to get early kills with him, you can always force the enemy to blow their summoners and play a more passive game under the tower. This will free up your laner to secure plates or roam.
- Support: As a support, Brand’s Early Game playstyle will be to keep harassing the enemy Bot Lane. make the most of your W, and keep poking out the enemy ADC every time they walk up to CS. You can try and all-in on the enemy as well once you hit level 3. Brand has a great kill presence early on.
Mid Game:
- Mid Lane: During the Mid Game you need to start snowballing from your leads. Once you have your Liandry’s made, push in your lane and look to make plays in other parts of the map. Make sure to help your Jungler secure objectives as well and place wards around your lane to spot out a gank.
- Jungle: As a Jungler, the Mid Game will continue to be about securing more objectives. Brand is great at soloing Drake, Gromps, and the Rift Herald. So if you are seeing that the enemy Jungler is either dead or in another part of the map, then take down the objectives. This will help you secure and hold onto your leads.
- Support: Roam the map with your Jungler and take down the neutral objectives or fish for kills. Additionally, don’t forget to place deep Wards in the enemy half. The Mid Game is all about vision, so keep racking up some vision score by placing Wards or using the sweepers to take out enemy vision.
Late Game:
- Mid Game: If you have secured early leads you will have a much better time scaling into the Late Game. The amount of burst Brand is able to generate with his passive can melt through the enemy frontline. However, irrespective of Brand’s best builds and situational item options he remains squishy. His lack of mobility makes him a very easy target to collapse on. So make sure you are kiting around a fight.
- Jungle: Keep threatening neutral objective take. Position for the Baron and Elder Drake when they are up and try and secure them with the help of your team. Brand should have enough damage at this point to melt through both objectives while zoning the enemy away with his Pillar of Flame.
- Support: Keep extending your vision score. Place wards around the map to catch out an enemy flank. Look for engages with the rest of your team as well, because even as a Support brand has good carry potential. Once you have some of Brand’s core build online, he will start hitting like a truck.
Brand counters, matchups, and champion synergy
Brand Mid
Countered by:
- LeBlanc
- Zoe
- Talon
- Zed
- Qiyana
- Akali
- Sylas
In the Mid Lane Brand gets countered by assassin lakers who come with a lot of mobility and burst.
Favorable Matchups:
Brand has a better time in lane against picks that take a while to scale up and do not have that much mobility.
Jungle Synergy:
- Sejuani
- Maokai
- Ivern
- Rell
- Xin Zhao
- Jarvan
- Elise
Brand’s kit synergizes will with junglers who have a fair amount of CC in their kit.
Brand Jungle
Countered by:
- Shaco
- Rengar
- Kha’Zix
- Evelynn
- Nunu
- Briar
- Kayne
- Elise
- Kindred
Brand struggles against picks that can counter-jungle him and put him in a Gold and XP deficit.
Favorable Matchups
- Amumu
- Maokai
- Rell
- Sejuani
- Lee Sin
- Rammus
- Poppy
Brand has a much easier time in the jungle against these champions.
Top Lane Synergy
- Tryndamere
- Nasus
- Twisted Fate
- Darius
- Rengar
- Dr.Mundo
- Vayne
- Yasuo
Brand has an easier time ganking the lane for champions who have a consistent DPS uptime.
Brand Support
Countered by:
- Blitzcrank
- Thresh
- Pyke
- Lulu
- Karma
- Nautilus
- Janna
- Shaco
Brand has a bad time in the Bot Lane against certain enchanter and grab supports.
Favorable Matchups
Brand counters certain engage and poke supports because of his powerful poke.
ADC synergy
Brand pairs well with ADCs who have a lot of poke or burst damage in the Early Game.
