Eldritch Knight 8th & 14th level spell selection

[ZenBear]

I know this has been discussed a bunch, but I never payed attention so I'm asking now.

What are the spells most people take for EKs from alternate schools?

I'm thinking at 8th I take Magic Weapon unless I have a magic weapon at this point (likely but not guaranteed), in which case I'll take Misty Step.

At 14th level I see a lot of people say Haste is the go-to, but I don't think it's all that worth it for a Fighter who will get a single extra attack or a spell and a full action attack, which is nice but I already get to cast and attack from class feature so, meh. Instead I think Fly is the way to go. Mobility is a big problem for Fighters, and with Con proficiency it's less likely for the Fighter to lose concentration than the Wizard, especially with Shield.

I haven't played an EK yet but I'm thinking of trying it for my next character. What can y'all tell me from your experiences?

[CNagy]

I like Blur for 8th level as a defensive magic, especially if you start tangling with thieves and assassins, who can't Sneak Attack you while you are blurred. Enlarge makes a decent choice as an offensive magic.

At 14th level, Haste is a solid option. More than just the extra attack, the +2 to AC, advantage on Dex saves, and doubled movement it a good all-round improvement. Fly's not a bad choice either...

...but if you haven't been neglecting your Intelligence stat, Slow can be your best friend. With 3 attacks and potentially an off-hand attack, you can set up to 4 foes with Eldritch Strike before dropping a Slow on them (either next round or the same round via Action Surge) and their nearby friends. Haste speeds you up, but Slow speeds up the entire party (as least in comparison to the enemy).

[Daishain]

I prefer mirror image to blur thanks to the lack of concentration, but both in my opinion pale in comparison to misty step. Just too many ways to screw with your opponent's maneuvers.

As for 14, I'd prefer haste to fly, but if your group is hurting for mobility options...

[MaxWilson]

I know this has been discussed a bunch, but I never payed attention so I'm asking now.

What are the spells most people take for EKs from alternate schools?

I'm thinking at 8th I take Magic Weapon unless I have a magic weapon at this point (likely but not guaranteed), in which case I'll take Misty Step.

At 14th level I see a lot of people say Haste is the go-to, but I don't think it's all that worth it for a Fighter who will get a single extra attack or a spell and a full action attack, which is nice but I already get to cast and attack from class feature so, meh. Instead I think Fly is the way to go. Mobility is a big problem for Fighters, and with Con proficiency it's less likely for the Fighter to lose concentration than the Wizard, especially with Shield.

I haven't played an EK yet but I'm thinking of trying it for my next character. What can y'all tell me from your experiences?

Personally, I'd say either Blur or Magic Weapon at 8th level; Magic Weapon can be deprioritized if your party already has someone who can enchant your weapon at need (e.g. against wraiths) or if your party already has plenty of magical firepower (warlocks, etc.) against creatures resistant to normal weapons. In that case, it might be more useful to know Blur, which is a fantastic defense for a high-AC tank and synergizes incredibly well with Shield. It has limited usefulness against truly high-end creatures because so many of them have blindsight or truesight, but for tanking against mobs it is truly excellent.

At 14th level I really like Blink, for similar reasons (no-concentration extreme defense plus limited mobility), although for a tank proper it has some down sides. I don't like Haste, especially as a self-buff, because it takes several rounds of Haste just to make up for the action you lost casting it, and it also gives you a huge vulnerability. It has defensive benefits but Blur is superior on that score anyway.

At 19th level I might be tempted to swap Blink out for Polymorph. Depends on how your DM interprets "game statistics" though in the Polymorph context; do things like the Mobile feat and Extra Attack still apply, or are "game statistics" just St/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Cha/HP? The Polymorph feat is ambiguous so it's a DM call. (Why would Polymorph explicitly call out spellcasting as something which, like speech, is disallowed in beastform? If you were just a bog-standard beast that paragraph would be redundant since beasts can't cast spells anyway.) Still, a Tyrannosaurus Rex that bites 4x per round instead of Multiattacking with Bite + Tail and then action surges for another four bites is a fantastically fun thought, way, way better than Haste.