Brand or Zyra support?

Fòcus·Apr 5, 2016·1 votes·1,398 views

I want to get one or the other, and I decided to see some other opinions from zyra and brand mains :D

I'm a support main and I want to play more of these AP supports!

I saw that both of these champions have high win rates in solo queue, but which one is the better champion?

ZYRA vs BRAND SUPPORT

Pros and Cons?
Counters/Matchups?
Most effective phase of the game?
Best AD synergies?
Good Roams?
Better Harass / Zoning?
Mana Usage?

Thanks guys, I appreciated it :) focus

3 Comments

Virgin RayApr 5, 20162 votes

Zyra more cc only has a stun, and it takes 2 abilities to activate

TNHA BaritoneApr 5, 20161 votes

2 - 7 are similar for BOTH Zyra and Brand. They both are good with AOE damage comps. I would say Zyra has better roam potential despite being slow. Her lockdown is easier to hit. They're both always effective so long as they build some kind of AP. Hard engage counters them as they are squishy. They also work well with ADCs that are strong early and can self peel.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

High Damage
Two forms of hard CC; both AOE
Does a lot of damage with plants and can zone with them (as well as block skillshots)

Cons:

Squishy
Her health is in the top 5 for the lowest
If she were any slower, I'd think she were a rooted plant
Her abilities ALL have delays
Horrible passive
Her mana costs are noticable
If you misuse your seeds, you lose the trade / fight
She pushes the wave with her spells

Pros and Cons

Pros:

High Damage
A stun (LONG duration)
His Pillar demolishes your laners
His ult is better in a duo lane as it will bounce more

Cons:

He is squishy
His mana costs are noticable
Requires hitting all spells to be effective, whereas Zyra might miss her Q, but the plant will still rise.
His ult can be useless if the enemy spreads.
He pushes the wave with his spells.

Privileged JewApr 5, 20161 votes

Zyra main here with over 200K points.

I can tell you the difference between Brand and Zyra almost immediately upon playing the former.

Brand's W takes longer to complete than Zyra's Q, and is therefore more easily sidestepped in the early game.

Brand severely lacks any kind of hard kite; whereas if I build a crystal scepter on Zyra, the autoattacks from my ranged plants apply a 20% slow (which oh by the way, stacks and goes from 20% to 40% if two plants are dpsing the same champion). You can also used the slow mechanic to stop champions from fleeing. If someone is over a ledge (like at dragon) and your teammates can hop over, but you can't, throw a plant or two on the other side and watch as their autoattacks prevent the fleeing champ from gaining the distance needed to get away.

Also, the sustained dps from having plants up applying the Liandry's Torment dot during teamfights is amazing.

Brand is pure dps. He is easily caught out and bursted down/cc'd, and doesn't have any reliable way of avoiding this. It's true, his kit will out dps Zyra's by a small margin in the right hands, but is it really worth losing an AOE knockup/disruption, a snare that can hit multiple champions, and a 40% slow that you can use to dance around any melee that comes after you or other squishies on your team?