Picking a feat for Hexblade 1 / Sword Bard 7

[Werekill]

Hi everyone, I'm building a Hexblade/Sword Bard to replace a character in a campaign. I'd do straight sword bard, but the charisma for hit/damage is too good to ignore. I'm still surprised that there's no class feature like that for Bards yet, but alas, that's a different discussion.

I'll be doing Variant Human with the duelist (for shield and sword) style, but I'm not quite sure what feat to pick. I figure something defensive may be best, but I'm open to other options. Here's what I'm debating:

Defensive Duelist: a repeatable but worse Shield spell that only works against one attack but uses no resources. After a single level, it'll be at +4 to AC. When combined with the Sword Bard's AC flourish for +inspiration dice roll to AC, it could be tasty. However, I can get the Shield spell from the Hexblade list so it's a tough choice. The flavor is rad as well.

Warcaster: main benefit is advantage on concentration saves. The somatic casting with hands full is nice, but I already can use swords as an arcane focus so the casting is covered. The opportunity attacks with casting is cool too, but I'm not planning too much on taking booming blade since I have extra attack.

Magic Initiate: a bit of an oddball pick, but a good one. I can take Shield plus more cantrips, giving me a once per long rest Shield slot and the spell itself, freeing up a spell known for other options.

What do you guys think? There's a lot of choices here, and I'm not quite sure what to pick.

Edit: Crap, forgot the optimization tag. Sorry guys.

[nirurin]

You have to be careful with magic initiate. Maybe check with how your DM rules it. Most people read the spell as being "1 per day" and that's it - It doesn't get added to your spell list, and you can't cast it using your own slots. It's just one shield and done until tomorrow. Which is why most people only get it for Find Familiar, which generally has a chance of lasting all day (maybe, if you're lucky). It's still great for grabbing a couple extra cantrips though.

Defensive Duellist is a strange one too. It's generally better than Shield, especially as it doesn't use spell slots, but it does only work against a single attack per round (where Shield works for every attack for that whole round). If you're only taking occasional hits, DD is great (i like it for flavour too), but if you're being attacked by a horde or by a monster with multiattack, it's not going to help you much.

Warcaster is generally considered a solid pick if you're in melee. The somatic part is irrelevant for Bard spells as you use your sword as your focus, but it means you can cast your warlock spells if you have any, and the advantage on concentration checks is great if you use a lot of concentration spells. Being able to use booming blade as your attack of opportunity is also nice.

Most people would probably point you towards Warcaster, if not as your level 1 feat then at least at some point.

[QuintonBeck]

Shield Master and putting one of your Bardic Expertises on Athletics might not be a terrible choice either for quick and dirty advantage creation. Warcaster's advantage on Concentration checks can be life saving. Defensive Duelist just doesn't seem worth it to me, especially if you plan to pick up Counterspell which will compete for your Reaction, but to each their own.

[Citan]

Hi everyone, I'm building a Hexblade/Sword Bard to replace a character in a campaign. I'd do straight sword bard, but the charisma for hit/damage is too good to ignore. I'm still surprised that there's no class feature like that for Bards yet, but alas, that's a different discussion.

I'll be doing Variant Human with the duelist (for shield and sword) style, but I'm not quite sure what feat to pick. I figure something defensive may be best, but I'm open to other options. Here's what I'm debating:

Defensive Duelist: a repeatable but worse Shield spell that only works against one attack but uses no resources. After a single level, it'll be at +4 to AC. When combined with the Sword Bard's AC flourish for +inspiration dice roll to AC, it could be tasty. However, I can get the Shield spell from the Hexblade list so it's a tough choice. The flavor is rad as well.

Warcaster: main benefit is advantage on concentration saves. The somatic casting with hands full is nice, but I already can use swords as an arcane focus so the casting is covered. The opportunity attacks with casting is cool too, but I'm not planning too much on taking booming blade since I have extra attack.

Magic Initiate: a bit of an oddball pick, but a good one. I can take Shield plus more cantrips, giving me a once per long rest Shield slot and the spell itself, freeing up a spell known for other options.

What do you guys think? There's a lot of choices here, and I'm not quite sure what to pick.

Edit: Crap, forgot the optimization tag. Sorry guys.
Hi!
Since you are bootstrapping a lvl 8 character, and considering your concept, I'd say definitely go for Defensive Duelist.
It may be lesser than Shield (1 attack only, 1 AC less) but it's every turn: so it's actually a very nice complement even for people who actually know Shield, because it's not every time that you really need that AC boost to last beyond a single attack (unless you plan on playing a tank gish, but then I'd argue that Spirit Guardians is the spell to pick ASAP).

[JoyfulJester]

Warcaster is important if you plan on casting spells with a somatic but no material component such as shield or absorb elements, a focus only works if a spell has at least the material component. Plus as was mentioned being able to use booming blade as a reaction is solid.

[Sception]

Yeah, if your GM is a stickler for component rules, an arcane focus won't help you at all for spells with somatic but no material components, like for instance shield. Many fudge this, but you might want to have a side chat with your GM about it. And even if you have extra attack, a booming blade opp attack is a really nice option to have in your pocket.

Otherwise, what are your stats? Do you have any odd numbers that might round out with one of the half-stat feats, perhaps those from the skill feat UIs?

and Inspiring Leader is always one to consider for cha builds. That is a lot of hit points to pass around the party every rest. Can really smooth out healing duties.

[BobZan]

Warcaster is your feat if you're S&B caster

[Werekill]

Thanks guys! This discussion was immensely helpful.

The bad news is that the frontline tank of the party is retiring that character and going a bit squishier, so that may mean I need Warcaster to survive more concentration checks. The good news is that another player may be doing the opposite, swapping up to a tank.

If they swap to a tank, I'll take Defensive Duelist because it's a cool as hell ability. The flavor is top notch, and it's an awesome skill. If we don't get another tank, I'll be doing Warcaster.