It’s rare for an ability power carry to bring so much heat to the League of Legends bot lane, but that’s exactly what Brand has done in Patch 14.12. The spike in power is so high that players have begun begging Riot to make quick changes.
Brand is one of those League champions that fewer and fewer people have been picking as their main champions because there’s cooler, flashier, and newer champions to play and spam from more recent seasons. He’s an enjoying quite the resurgence right now though; he’s already ticked up a nice 53.97 percent win rate across all ranks as an AP carry in Patch 14.12, according to stat page U.GG’s early numbers.
Although there are many reasons why Brand is a great mage, the most prominent is he’s easy to pilot, and his combos are straightforward. Not only is he designed to deal considerable damage with no gold, but players agree he’s “specifically a tank support counter.” So, if you’re playing a tank support, Brand is the champion you want to avoid because if you’re afflicted with Ablaze, his passive stack, you’re dealt two percent of your max health as magic damage, and this can stack, dealing even more damage.
The real kicker is if you get three Ablaze stacks, you gain a ring of fire around you that eventually explodes. All within the detonation area are dealt magic damage equal to a percentage of their max health as magic damage. So, if you run into another teammate with this ring and it then explodes, well, they may end up dying because of you.
These power points across Brand’s ability kit has sparked an outcry from the League community, with many lamenting that “Brand APC bot is way too strong.” Many agree he’s “overtuned right now and needs a nerf”—especially that explosive passive ability.
Some players have even felt the burn of the champion before his 14.12 resurgence, with one unlucky League fan killed as an afterthought while clearing a wave. If you’ve been wondering why Brand has a 16.4 percent ban rate, this is why.
While it’s nice to see him getting more attention as a fiery bot lane carry, it feels pretty awful to get so brutally one-shot by a powerful Brand, and it’s one of the many reasons why League fans are demanding he be nerfed in Patch 14.13.
Riot has not yet suggested it has any plans to do so next update.
