Returning / new person hierophant question

Hey folks, the context of my question is that while I've had a handful of 90+ characters in the past, that was years ago and when I log in now I haven't a clue about anything anymore other than some basics, also because so much has changed. Anyhow , I've mostly played witches or marauders, and the only class I've never tried is hierophant.
I'd like to try a totem build amyhow, and so hierophant seems like a decent place to try something other than the chieftans I've done. Still have no clue what half of this new stuff is, such as brands, but I see it on the passive tree and hence my questions:
- hierophant gets a bonus to Mana before life, and there is this node that's new to me the agnostic that looks synergistic considering the mana buffs here, and obviously meant for a templar with its position on the tree, yet two things make me think it's not right for me: the hierophant gets bonus ES it seems, so why not use it, and also I want to spellcast, so I'll need lots of blue slots, which means relying on pure strength Armour will be a chore. Right? Or am I not understanding agnostic well enough?
- totems don't count as me (for reflect and leech) but brands do, right? I've not tried a brand yet, but how good is the keystone that nerfs a totem slot for an extra brand "attach"?
- Will taking Ancestral Bond make casting Brands useless, or do Brands count as "not yourself"?
Sorry in advance, lots more questions but I'll leave it at that for now.
Thanks in advance!

Anyone with a tip?

Brands do count as you and can leech for you. Also reflect dmg to you.
The +1 brand, less totem is pretty much needed if you're going to do a brand build.
Ancestral bond doesn't make brands useless. You can still use one of them linked to curse or mark so you don't need to cast curse yourself.
I don't really play hiero so can't actually give too many tips