Adventure league shadowblade spell weapon

[Whit]

Using adventure league rules: PHB +1 Xanathar for shadowblade spell
What is the best class/classes to use the spell as often as possible in combats but also up casting it for higher damage.
*Shadow blade spell
2nd lvl illusion concentration 1 minute
Fitness,light, auto proficient. 2d8 psychic damage can throw 20/60 bonus action to reappear in hand. Advantage in dim light/darkness. Upcast spell level 3-4=3d8,
5-6=4d8, 7-9=5d8

*Fighter (ek) doesn’t work. Don’t get lvl 2 spells until 7th and no shadow blade until 8th lvl so you’re stuck at basic 2d8 and 2x day. Although you can action surge and have 2 attacks per round.
So let’s go with fighter champion lvl 3 gives crits 19-20. At lvl 2 action surge and lvl 5 - 2 attack and the rest wizard divination. Of course you could change to 5/15 or 6/14. Either asi fighter or 1 lvl 8 spell slot. You get portent rolls for attacking 2 at lvl 6 and 3 at 14. Special vision at lvl 10. You’re upcast is
1 lvl 7 or an additional for lvl 8 for 5d8 5/15 class
3 at lvl 5-6 for 4d8
6 at lvl 3-4 for 3d8
3 at lvl 2 for 2d8
During those fights you get 2 attacks per round
And can action surge once for an extra 2 attacks. And you have portent to use. Starting as fight gives con proficiency for concentration saves and armor. You can go dex based with the finesse and certain armor or strength and heavy armor. Here you can decide how to level to start getting the spells but once again you might not get beat use til mid level and higher

Now as a rogue AT you are again stuck with limited use waiting til lvl 7 and ending with 3 lvl 2 2d8 and 4 3d8 but only 1 attack yet can add sneak attack Which will start with 4d6 at lvl 7 and go to 10d6 at 20. Plus you can cunning action out of combat

The next option and similar to fighter wizard is
Fighter champion 5/6 and Sorcerer 14-15.
You get the same spell slots as wizard for upcast as above , you get less known spells just in case you need to use a spell. YET you can use your sorcery points to add more slots which is basically the amount your level is. So a 14 sorcerer can create 2 extra lvl 5 upcast , 2 extra lvl 3 which is sane as a lvl 4 upcast gettingb2 more upcast and then 1 extra basic 2nd lvl cast.
As for meta magic which would cut into extra spell skits. These two work. Empowered fir 1 point you can re roll spell damage dice equal to your charisma modifier. Thus you could re roll all of the bad shadowblade damage dice.
The next meta is extend which fir 1 point make the duration 2 minutes for the spell. Not as good as the empowered.

So those are the three best options using Adventure league rules and using shadowblade spell as primary weapon
1. Fighter champion gives you extra crit chance , ability to wear armor , action surge fir extra attacks with it , fighting style and depending on lvl 6/14 an extra asi
2. Wizard portent gives you well, portent. 2-3 extra dice rolls to choose from. For anyone to attack save or ability check. Also cast divination spells which allow you to gain a lower spell slot. And the magic eye for Darkvision, see invisibility or ethereal.
3. Sorcerer gets extra spell slots from sorcerer pointswhich cones out to 2 extra shadowblade spells of various upcast lvl and the ability to re roll damage dice a lot of times using meta magic. Dragconic see s best choice as you get auto ac 13 plus dex extra hit point per sorcerer level and wings lat 14
4. Rogue AT has no need for multi class but will be limited to 1 attack but gets sneak attack and can jump out of combat range. Shadowblade will never get upcast so will stay as 2d8.
Overall the wizard in my opinion is the best choice as you can get more use out of portent to make sure you hit , not get hit. To save or make someone fail a save etc.

Opinions

[Jamesps]

Edit: Deleted, Misread the original.

[nickl_2000]

What about a Sorciden? Paladin 6 (or 7)/ Sorcerer X? You get two attacks, other Paladin goodies. You can use it as a finesse weapon, but it isn't required to be one.

Probably Paladin 2, then Sorcerer 3, then whatever seems right.

[Joe the Rat]

Sorcadin also gives you more magic than a fighter x for Extra attack approach. On a similar vein, Bladesinger Wizard, and Valor and Swords Bards get extra attack at 6, and Even More Slots. I'm afb, but if Bard can get shadow blade (without magical secrets), start there.

Of course the downside is that you are going to have to balance attacks progression vs. Cast progression: you need 3 levels of your shadowblade class, and 5-6 levels of your attack class - you can start 'blading from 3, but won't get that second attack until much later.

I also like Warlock on this - upcast all the time, recharge on a nap, seeing in magical darkness as a class feature option. This will require a martial component - blade pact extra attack does not play nice with the spell.

Another left field option is Shadow Monk 5 - add short rest darkness and darkvision, and bonus action shadow teleportation to your toolkit. You're getting pretty MAD, but since the goal is All Shadowblade All The Time, you really only need the minimum (13) in your caster component.

[Damon_Tor]

I played up to level 14 with a dragon soul sorcerer devoted to shadowblade. It was really rewarding, and one of my favorite characters. If I were to do it again I would make him a divine soul instead: Thaumaturgy to dim all nearby lights is more efficient than control flames to snuff them out individually.

I didn't multiclass at all. Multiple attacks were accieved with quickened spell, casting booming blade as a minor action, and occasionally twinned spell. If I were to multiclass it would be into fighter for action surge and dueling style: extra attack just isn't worth as much as using booming blade.

But of course you need to obey AL restrictions, which makes booming blade and shadowblade incompatible. Which is a shame.

[Whit]

Right. First it’s AL legal so no Bladesinger
Sorcadin is viable. It depends on a persons type. I’m just saying best option is divine wizard with fighter. As portent is more useful but maybe I’m missing something.

[KnotaGuru]

Multiple attacks were accieved with quickened spell, casting booming blade as a minor action, and occasionally twinned spell.

This wouldn't work. Booming blade requires a melee weapon for the material competent used as part of the spell. Shadowblade is a spell, not a weapon.

[Spiritchaser]

This wouldn't work. Booming blade requires a melee weapon for the material competent used as part of the spell. Shadowblade is a spell, not a weapon.

It won’t work, but not for that reason.

Shadow blade counts as a simple melee weapon, so all good there

But booming blade (scag) and shadow blade (Xanthars) would violate the PHB+1 rule.

Edit: for a non AL legal build it would of course be fine.

[Whit]

Correct. The thing to look at is. What class can give the spell shadowblade. How many spell levels can you get to upcast. Second how many spells you can have as utility just in case it’s needed. Third what else that spell class can provide you.
Sorcerer can give you extra damage with re rolling damage with meta. Sorcerer points give 2 - extra shadowblade casting. Dragon can give you that armor ac and extra hit points

But in my opinion. Making sure you HIT with the spell is more important. And Divination wizard gives you that and more. Saves on top of using it fir allies or against enemies is huge.

When you use that 5d8 lvl 7 spell slot vrs the big boss fight, you want to hit each turn or turn that enemy save to a 3.
And with a champion fighter Your crit went up to 19-20. And once per short rest
You can action surge fir a 4 attack round

Now the Paladin can get 2 attacks and on a hit can smite and on a lucky 20 crit for massive. But his chance of hitting drops and get crits with sorcerer over a divine wizard with champion.

[Gignere]

I’d recommend going elf or halfelf to combine with elven accuracy. Turn that auto advantage into auto super advantage.

[OctaviOz]

Correct. The thing to look at is. What class can give the spell shadowblade. How many spell levels can you get to upcast. Second how many spells you can have as utility just in case it’s needed. Third what else that spell class can provide you.
Sorcerer can give you extra damage with re rolling damage with meta. Sorcerer points give 2 - extra shadowblade casting. Dragon can give you that armor ac and extra hit points

But in my opinion. Making sure you HIT with the spell is more important. And Divination wizard gives you that and more. Saves on top of using it fir allies or against enemies is huge.
twinned for this build
When you use that 5d8 lvl 7 spell slot vrs the big boss fight, you want to hit each turn or turn that enemy save to a 3.
And with a champion fighter Your crit went up to 19-20. And once per short rest
You can action surge fir a 4 attack round is also

Now the Paladin can get 2 attacks and on a hit can smite and on a lucky 20 crit for massive. But his chance of hitting drops and get crits with sorcerer over a divine wizard with champion.

If you want to get the most bang-for-buck (read min/max) from a AL legal build based around shadow blade I find it hard to go past Sorcadin. Taking a more-likely-to achieve level 13 build as an example:
Pally 6 - Whatever flavour you like the most. Heavy armour, 2 attacks, great saves, fantastic utility and smite :)
Sorc 7 - Many good options, personally I like shadow. Goes with the Shadow Blade theme. Meta Magics (I like quickened and twinned for this build), hound of ill omen, level 5 spell slots.

Combat - Upcast Shadowblade at level 5 (4d8), 4th level smites for an extra 5d8. Without crit = 9d8 (ave 40) per hit. Obviously drops slightly as you burn through spell slots. You also have amazing versatility with all your other Sorc goodies. A decently built character should hit the majority of the time, especially at higher level, so it's much more important to focus on maximising damage output once a hit has already taken place (notable exception being monks stunnning-strike). Crits are great but if you are spending lots of build resources for an extra 5%-10% chance it's probably a waste.

Defence is also excellent. Hi AC with plate + shield (20ac). Shield (25ac), Mirror Image (1/3 attacks even hit you), Misty step, Counter spell.

If you feel like it, even throw in a fireball for fun :)

Important note, you really need to make your con saves so war-caster and/or resilient is a must. Lucky wouldn't hurt either.

[Corran]

*Fighter (ek) doesn’t work.
And still that's your best bet. Fighters get more attacks than anyone else (extra attack and action surge), which is the only thing that synergizes with shadow blade. Spell slots also boost it, but getting higher level spell slots means that you are also getting higher level spells, and that's your opportunity cost. EK's do get it later (level 7 or 8), and you might see this as a drawback, but in truth that's what keeps the opportunity cost of using shadow blade to a minimum (while the number of attacks makes it more valuable).

[tieren]

What about a warlock? You could go all day with it always upcast to highest level as long as you take a short rest every couple of fights.

Pick up Devil's sight invocation and go at them in complete darkness, even magical. Could also take relentless hex to teleport to your target, etc... So much to work with.

[Spiritchaser]

I’d look at fighter/sorc or sorcadin

Fighter (EK) option:
You can go with a Dex build for Elven accuracy. This gets you absurd hit chances, you get action surge, you can get a bat familiar for blindsight if you want. You get second wind.

Paladin (Any but I like vengeance for those times you want advantage in bright light. Yes I know this is a bonus action conflict, but it works out ok.)

You can do a Dex sorcadin with EA but it’s seriously MAD, don’t try this lightly, or better yet don’t try it. You probably want to attack with STR. You get your aura, smites, and a few more spell slots. You get a modest pool for LoH.

For either I’d take Divine soul sorcerer because of thaumaturgy. With shadow blade dim lights are your friend, and because spirit guardians can do things that shadow blade can’t, and sometimes you will want to be able to do those things.

[Warlush]

Right. First it’s AL legal so no Bladesinger.

Which is a real shame because not only do you get 2 attacks without a martial dip, but will also add INT and DEX to damage. Blade song is amazing, Arcane Recovery is amazing, you'd have to be an Elf so Elven Accuracy would be almost mandatory. You could also have Shadow Blade as one of your at will spells at Lvl 18, for when you're dealing with hoards of mooks and don't need to upcast for damage but need to conserve slots.

[Whit]

A level 6 Paladin will only cast 4 lvl 1 and 2 lvl 2 spells. Get 2 attacks, immune to disease, divine sense, lay hands , and get fight style which would be either duelist or protection. Divine smite only works with Paladin spells so you can get 4 1d8 smites and 2 2d8 smites aura of protection +2 saves fir him and group.
Overall not bad at all but the smites are not as good as one would think for this.

A level 6 fighter will get second wind (not as good) fighting style (Same as Paladin), (action surge 2 extra attacks once per short rest. And an extra asi.) those are good. On top of that fights already get (con proficiency saves.) Which is huge for keeping shadowblade up.

Now as for archetype a vengeance Paladin can get vow of enmity per short rest getting advantage vs 1 person

Champion fighter will get improve crit 19-20.
Constantly.

Sorcerer dragon can get ac 13+dex if you dont go strength. Thus reducing mad. 1 xtra hp per sorcerer level, resistance to an element type and add charisma damage to that element type. From same element spells. And at 14th get wings to fly.

Eventually 14 sorcerer points for empowered meta magic (1) to re roll shadowblade low die rolls equal to charisma mod.

Or trade the points to get extra shadow blade up casts 2 lvl 5

A divine wizard will get the portent 2 dice and at 14 3 dice for portent which can be used for attack, saves, ability rolls for yourself allies or against enemies. That can be an auto hit or save for allies or auto failed save or failed hit for an enemy. Example. The big boss crits. No he doesn’t he uses my portent dice roll of 3.
Or he rolls a 3 for that polymorph. Or my ally who failed the save now uses the 14 fir a save. Or if you lucky. You have a 20 standing by fir a crit. You cast a divination spell you can get a slot back if a lower level. At 10 choose one see invisible, ethereal , Darkvision, read any language.

[Evaar]

My preference is Fighter/Sorcerer.

Fighter up to 3 attacks - huge with Shadowblade's damage dice.
Sorcerer the rest of the way to shore up spell slots, refuel some slots with sorcery points.

[Spiritchaser]

Divine smite only works with Paladin spells

Now why would you think that?

[Chugger]

You can get Shadowblade and Booming Blade on the same character in AL! Some of us up there seem to be forgetting that a wizard or a MC char that has some wiz can scribe into their book any spell. As long as scag is your +1, you got BB and gfb if you want it. You can just buy a copy of shadowblade on a scroll or sit at a table with a wiz char who has it, and copy it into your spellbook.

[Spiritchaser]

You can get Shadowblade and Booming Blade on the same character in AL! Some of us up there seem to be forgetting that a wizard or a MC char that has some wiz can scribe into their book any spell. As long as scag is your +1, you got BB and gfb if you want it. You can just buy a copy of shadowblade on a scroll or sit at a table with a wiz char who has it, and copy it into your spellbook.

This needs the spell to be available to copy (not guaranteed)

BB would really need quickened spell to shine, otherwise, with shadow blade, extra attack is generally (though perhaps not always) better.

This means you need both wizard, AND sorcerer.

I guess that IS possible. Bladesinger 6 sorcerer X COULD be a thing...

But it seems like rather a lot of compromise.

[TheUser]

Bladesinger's can still cast shadowblade in AL; they just have to copy the spell from someone else, or from a scroll/spellbook that they loot.

They cannot learn it as part of the levelling process is all. If there is another wizard in your group you can simply ask them to learn it in exchange for you learning a spell they want and you copy from one another.

[Spiritchaser]

Bladesinger's can still cast shadowblade in AL; they just have to copy the spell from someone else, or from a scroll/spellbook that they loot.

They cannot learn it as part of the levelling process is all. If there is another wizard in your group you can simply ask them to learn it in exchange for you learning a spell they want and you copy from one another.

Again: I don’t see how this is something that you can count on.

[TheUser]

Again: I don’t see how this is something that you can count on.

It really doesn't become a good thing until level 6 anyway.

And there are LOADS of wizards in AL. Also there are spellbook/scroll rewards where the player gets to choose what spells are in the book/scrolls in AL.
Opportunities abound.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Again: I don’t see how this is something that you can count on.

Have a friend to play with. Ask online. Ask other players.

Someone may be willing to help.


If you play with people that won't help you act like this:
Start with a regular wizard with XGtE as your +1.
It is a level 2 spells, you can take it at level 3, give your friendly wizard gold to copy it.

Use your ability to rebuild your character as a bladesinger and play again with the same friend. Use your gold to copy the shadowblade you gave him to copy before.

The other wizard pay nothing and get a free spell, they have nothing to complain about as you use non of their resources.
It is a bit cheesy but most of the guys that play AL in my area like this kind of cheese.

[Griswold]

This needs the spell to be available to copy (not guaranteed)

In Adventurer's League, you can buy any spell scroll you want, of up to 5th level. 2nd level spell scrolls are only 150 gold. See the Player's Guide, page 3.

[Spiritchaser]

Have a friend to play with. Ask online. Ask other players.

Someone may be willing to help.


If you play with people that won't help you act like this:
Start with a regular wizard with XGtE as your +1.
It is a level 2 spells, you can take it at level 3, give your friendly wizard gold to copy it.

Use your ability to rebuild your character as a bladesinger and play again with the same friend. Use your gold to copy the shadowblade you gave him to copy before.

The other wizard pay nothing and get a free spell, they have nothing to complain about as you use non of their resources.
It is a bit cheesy but most of the guys that play AL in my area like this kind of cheese.

Ok, fair enough... not a bad way to go, and not a bad single class character

[Biggstick]

A level 6 Paladin will only cast 4 lvl 1 and 2 lvl 2 spells. Get 2 attacks, immune to disease, divine sense, lay hands , and get fight style which would be either duelist or protection. Divine smite only works with Paladin spells so you can get 4 1d8 smites and 2 2d8 smites aura of protection +2 saves fir him and group.
Overall not bad at all but the smites are not as good as one would think for this.

A level 6 fighter will get second wind (not as good) fighting style (Same as Paladin), (action surge 2 extra attacks once per short rest. And an extra asi.) those are good. On top of that fights already get (con proficiency saves.) Which is huge for keeping shadowblade up.

Now as for archetype a vengeance Paladin can get vow of enmity per short rest getting advantage vs 1 person

Champion fighter will get improve crit 19-20.
Constantly.

Sorcerer dragon can get ac 13+dex if you dont go strength. Thus reducing mad. 1 xtra hp per sorcerer level, resistance to an element type and add charisma damage to that element type. From same element spells. And at 14th get wings to fly.

Eventually 14 sorcerer points for empowered meta magic (1) to re roll shadowblade low die rolls equal to charisma mod.

Or trade the points to get extra shadow blade up casts 2 lvl 5

A divine wizard will get the portent 2 dice and at 14 3 dice for portent which can be used for attack, saves, ability rolls for yourself allies or against enemies. That can be an auto hit or save for allies or auto failed save or failed hit for an enemy. Example. The big boss crits. No he doesn’t he uses my portent dice roll of 3.
Or he rolls a 3 for that polymorph. Or my ally who failed the save now uses the 14 fir a save. Or if you lucky. You have a 20 standing by fir a crit. You cast a divination spell you can get a slot back if a lower level. At 10 choose one see invisible, ethereal , Darkvision, read any language.

Alright first of all, you can't use the Portent Dice after the die has been rolled. So if an enemy crits you (the DM has already rolled), the enemy crits you. There is no using of the Portent Die after the DM has rolled the attack.

Additionally, Divine Smite is 2d8 for first level spells and 3d8 for second level spells. Most of the time, these are used when the Paladin has landed a critical hit, meaning they're getting doubled to 4d8 (18 average radiant damage) and 6d8 (27 average radiant damage). Additionally, most Paladins I've played with don't have any less then a 14 Charisma. Typically, they have a 16 Charisma, meaning they have +3 to all saving throws. This means they're getting the bonus to Constitution saving throws, which at level 6 (which is the level we're comparing Fighter to Paladin) is the same bonus from proficiency that the Fighter already has. So theoretically, at level 6, the Paladin and the Fighter will have the same bonus to Constitution saving throws (with the Paladin actually providing this bonus to everyone).

As others have said though, an Eldritch Knight is going to be one of the best at using Shadowblade. I'd press to get an EK to level 8 instead of going Champion 5-6 // Wizard xx, as picking up levels in Eldritch Knight will better complement the Wizard levels. Additionally, once you get to the point in which you have a few levels in both class, you can pretty freely put levels into either class, as both will improve your overall spellcasting level and increase your spells available to upcast Shadowblade.

[Gignere]

I think the best user of shadowblade is an EK/sorcerer. Ideally 11 EK / 9 sorcerer. You can three attack and quicken a BB with up to level 6 Shadowblade.

I’d beeline to EK 7 than 5 sorcerer and than level however you want.