Brand, the Burning Vengeance, is a powerful and versatile mage support known for his exceptional poke and zoning capabilities. However, his effectiveness is heavily reliant on his ADC partner. Choosing the right ADC can significantly amplify Brand's strengths and mitigate his weaknesses. This guide will explore the best ADC champions to synergize with Brand, considering their playstyles and how they complement his abilities.
Understanding Brand's Strengths and Weaknesses
Before diving into specific champion pairings, let's examine Brand's core strengths and weaknesses to understand what we need from our ADC partner.
Brand's Strengths:
- Exceptional Poke: Brand's abilities allow for consistent poke damage, softening up enemies and forcing them to back off.
- Zone Control: His abilities, particularly his W (Pillar of Flame), excel at controlling key areas on the map.
- Teamfight Utility: Brand's ultimate (Blaze) offers significant AoE damage, especially when combined with his passive (Blaze).
Brand's Weaknesses:
- Squishy Nature: As a mage support, Brand lacks durability and is vulnerable to ganks and dives.
- Mana Management: Brand's mana costs can be high, requiring efficient mana usage.
- Late-Game Scaling: While strong early, his impact can diminish slightly in the late game compared to some other supports.
Best ADC Champions to Pair with Brand
Considering Brand's strengths and weaknesses, the ideal ADC partner should offer:
- Early Game Strength: To capitalize on Brand's early poke dominance.
- Sustain or Defensive Abilities: To mitigate Brand's squishy nature.
- Synergistic Ultimates: To create devastating teamfight combos.
Here are some top-tier ADC choices:
1. Ashe: The Glacial Archer
Ashe's synergy with Brand is phenomenal. Her slows perfectly set up Brand's skillshots, maximizing his damage potential. Her ultimate, Enchanted Crystal Arrow, allows for great pick potential and initiation, especially when combined with Brand's AoE burst. Her passive provides a constant attack speed boost, further increasing the team's damage output.
2. Sivir: The Battle Mistress
Sivir excels with poke-heavy supports. Her Boomerang Blade provides consistent damage and wave clear, allowing for safe farming alongside Brand's poke. Her Spell Shield offers protection against crucial enemy abilities, mitigating some of Brand's weaknesses. Furthermore, her ultimate, On the Hunt, significantly increases her and her allies' attack speed, creating devastating bursts of damage.
3. Caitlyn: The Sheriff of Piltover
Caitlyn's long-range poke and precision make her a strong complement to Brand. Her Headshot passive synergizes well with Brand's poke, dealing increased damage to already weakened targets. Her traps add another layer of control to the lane, further enabling Brand to dominate. Though lacking significant synergy in ultimates, the consistent damage output from both champions ensures a strong laning phase.
4. Miss Fortune: The Bounty Hunter
Miss Fortune's strong early game and AoE potential make her a suitable partner. Her Double Up can significantly amplify Brand's poke damage, especially when combined with his passive. Her ultimate, Bullet Time, provides crucial AoE damage in team fights, further enhancing Brand's teamfight presence.
Strategies and Gameplay Tips
Playing with Brand requires coordination and awareness. Here are some key strategies to employ:
- Coordinate Abilities: Utilize Brand's slows and Ashe's slows (or Sivir's spell shield) to maximize damage output.
- Prioritize Poke: Continuously harass the enemy laners to force them to back and create a significant gold advantage.
- Manage Mana: Efficient mana usage is crucial for Brand. Don't waste abilities unless you can maximize their impact.
- Ward Effectively: Brand's vulnerability necessitates careful warding to prevent ganks.
By understanding Brand's strengths and weaknesses and choosing an appropriate ADC partner, you can significantly improve your chances of victory. The key is coordination, efficient mana usage, and a strategic approach to maximizing your damage potential. Experiment with different ADCs to discover your preferred synergy and dominate the Bot Lane!
