Mage's Weapon

[Epinephrine]

I've often used Mage's Weapon to pick up a cheap defensive bonus (parrying dagger, spiked shield), or to wield an offensive weapon I couldn't normally (bastard sword, fullblade) but I had never spent much time looking at the encounter power, which allows you to expend an arcane encounter attack power to regain the use of a martial encounter attack power you know of up to the same level.

I only really realised it has this power recently, and would like to figure out a good way to use it; there are some solid low-level martial encounter attack powers, it's just that you need to sacrifice another power to recharge it, so it has to be a very good pick to be able to justify using your weapon slot and wasting another power (and you shouldn't have to stretch to get said power, or you've gimped yourself in the first place. Getting an arcane power and a martial to recharge is tricky; themes seem to be a decent way of getting an arcane power on a martial character. Rain of Blows might be a good choice, or Vengeance is Mine on a defender? Low Slash? Any other good choices of encounter power that are strong enough to be worth recharging by sacrificing another power (preferably low-level so you can achieve it via a theme)?

E.g., Level 4 Fighter (Unseelie Agent) with Warlord MC, Powerswap for Vengeance is Mine, Cold Shadow's Strike (to be substituted with ViM), Mage's Weapon (Bastard Sword?), can twice a combat punish foes for actually following his mark.

[Kurald Galain]

I'm not sure if it's worth the resources to swap out a martial encounter power to arcane, then spend that via your weapon to recharge another martial power.

If you're content with a first-level martial power, you could arguably grab an arcane encounter power by either multiclassing to wizard or being a half-elf. Otherwise, I'd simply take a Power Jewel along instead.

[windgate]

I'm not sure if it's worth the resources to swap out a martial encounter power to arcane, then spend that via your weapon to recharge another martial power.

If you're content with a first-level martial power, you could arguably grab an arcane encounter power by either multiclassing to wizard or being a half-elf. Otherwise, I'd simply take a Power Jewel along instead.

As a pure class, I dont see it really being worth it since I dont think there is a single class with both "martial" and "arcane" attack powers. Now if you are going with a hybrid it might be worth more for "burst damage" purposes, IE expending a standard action power to recharge an Immediate/minor/free action one.

[Yakk]

It is often considered worth burning a feat to gain an extra use of Come and Get It instead of another feat, or Rain of Blows. (Having 3 Come and Get It on a Fighter could be pretty ridiculously sticky).

The downside is that you need to be able to do a swap for a single feat, which means you need to justify MC arcane class on a fighter build, which gets tricky.

You could try building a hybrid strength-based Swordmage|Fighter who swaps out their last Swordmage encounter power for another Fighter encounter power use -- a not-swordmage basically, who just exploits the extra ranged mark and aegis of assault if someone does manage to get out of range.

Finding a use for their daily attack power is a bit tricky.

[Inevitability]

Swordmages get a few stances, maybe use those?

[Yakk]

Is that an encounter power on the mage's weapon, or daily? I forget, and don't have compendium access here.

If daily, you can use +1 mage's wrist razors to be able to use it many times per day (1/encounter or more?)