Brand

Brand is an AP mage in the mid, and on patch 16.11 they grade out as a solid mid-tier pick — a 51.9% win rate, 1.4% pick rate, 16,317 ranked games sampled. On the power curve, Brand spikes hardest in the mid game around the two-to-three-item mark — that is the window to force fights and objectives.

How Brand wins: grouped 5-v-5 teamfights, where Brand tips the fight, and sieging objectives and turrets with sustained pressure. The kit grades 8/10 teamfighting, 8/10 siege. Brand's soft spots are engage and disengage (3/10, 3/10) — avoid fights that hinge on them.

The most-played core build is Blackfire Torch, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Liandry's Torment, which holds a 57.1% win rate across 1,523 games this patch. Pick the enemy team to adapt each item slot to the specific matchup.

The matchup to respect is Veigar, where Brand sits at just 41.9%, the lane swings the other way into Pantheon (57.3%), and on the team side, Brand gains the most from a Alistar (+7.1% pair win rate).