Shadow of Moil + ???

[Cowboy_ninja]

My hexblade knows and often casts Shadow of Moil.

What other warlock spells pair well with that? RAW we can't cast multiple concentration spells so I'm very limited. Can't even use smite spells...

[icedraikon]

Short answer: Any non-concentration spell that requires an attack roll.

For Warlock: Eldritch Blast and Crown of Stars since they are non-concentration spells that require attack rolls which you make at advantage due to being considered heavily obscured. They also combo very well since you can pre-cast Crown of Stars with a 1hr duration and use it as a solid bonus action for 7 rounds of combat. (Doesn't combo with a melee playstyle since it's a ranged attack roll so you would be straight rolling instead of rolling with advantage if you were in melee)

Unfortunately Crown of stars is a 7th lvl spell (so it comes online at 13th level), so for most warlocks it's just Eldritch Blast (Also technically Magic Stone/Chill Touch, but you're a warlock so Eldritch Blast)

[animewatcha]

part of shadow of moil is in regards to getting hit 'in melee' ish. So Armor of Agathys.

[Corran]

Counterspell. If they cannot see you casting it, your counterspell will not get countered (assuming the enemy caster has access to it).

[RSP]

Really it’s EB.

You’re a Warlock, and you’ve already used one of your two (or 3) slots this encounter: spam EB, or just attack with your Pact Weapon.

The benefit of SoM is having it over the course of the combat while doing whatever else you usually do to get rid of enemies (which 99% of the time is EB or Pact Weapon attack).

If level 9+, and just going nova, Synaptic Static is fantastic: no Conc, AoE damage and debuff.

Though, personally, if SS is applicable to the situation (multiple enemies), I’d use it over SoM pretty much every time.

[Chaos Jackal]

I'll second counterspell and armor of Agathys. The former is extremely hard to stop through shadow of Moil (neither darkvision nor truesight help) and the latter combos for a rather masochistic but very potent combination of "damned if you do, damned if you don't"; if you're not hit, great, if you are, well, here's 34 damage with no roll in return. The two spells together can really melt enemies relying on flurries.

[RSP]

I'll second counterspell and armor of Agathys. The former is extremely hard to stop through shadow of Moil (neither darkvision nor truesight help) and the latter combos for a rather masochistic but very potent combination of "damned if you do, damned if you don't"; if you're not hit, great, if you do, well, here's 34 damage with no roll in return. The two spells together can really melt enemies relying on flurries.

Except they aren’t synergistic: SoM makes you harder to hit, AoA is only effective if you get (and most effective if hit in melee).

Given that most enemies will choose not to attack the PC that is harder to hit, given a choice (in my experience, DMs too, whether consciously deciding so or subconsciously, will prefer to attack other players); that’s a lot of resources (2 Actions and all or most of your spell slots) to have two defensive effects up that work counter to each other.

[da newt]

Elvin Accuracy and your Hexblade's Curse also work nicely w/ SoM (double crit range and +proff dam per hit) along w/ your agonizing and repelling blast.

[RogueJK]

The primary benefit is that you are heavily obscured, which means you get Advantage on attack rolls, and enemies have Disadvantage to hit you with attack rolls. So that means you're most likely going to be utilizing either Eldritch Blast or a weapon attack (if you're a Bladelock or other gishy Warlock).

The other primary benefit is the inability to be targeted by an enemy spell that requires seeing you, which is a lot of them. This does include Counterspell, although as noted earlier, you're already burning one of your precious slots to cast Shadow of Moil so you're usually not going to be burning another spell slot in the same combat (unless it's the Big Boss Fight).

Shadow of Moil is basically a slightly improved Darkness, one that doesn't require the Devil's Sight invocation for you to fully utilize and that doesn't hamper your party quite as much.


The retaliatory damage on a hit is a nice rider if you happen to get hit by a nearby attack, but is not the point of the spell. Considering you're inflicting Disadvantage, you're going to get hit less often to start with, and a heavily obscured Warlock won't be as tempting of a melee target as someone who is easier to hit anyway.

[Keravath]

Shadow of Moil boosts both offense and defense. This gives you advantage on to hit rolls and disadvantage to be hit because you are heavily obscured. The best use is likely a melee warlock (usually hexblade), ideally with GWM and a heavy weapon since it greatly enhances the chance of GWM hitting. It can also benefit a ranged warlock using Agonizing blast.

You could combine it with non-concentration spells like Synaptic Static or Raulothim's Psychic Lance - the main advantage when casting spells with Shadow of Moil up is that they can't be counter spelled.

From the point of view of damage, as an alternative to SoM, Spirit Shroud will do +2d8 damage to every attack within 10' when cast with a 5th level slot (which is all a higher level warlock has access to). This would include both ranged and melee attacks within 10' of the target (including Agonizing Blast). If your character is willing to get within 10' of their opponents (or happens to have the cross-bow expert feat) then they could use Agonizing Blast at close range and add +2d8 to each hit. Depending on the to-hit required, this will do more damage than using SoM but will also make you more vulnerable to attacks.

[Ogre Mage]

I am playing a 9th level genie warlock in a combat-heavy campaign. Most of the time I cast Shadow of Moil, activate the genie warlock's concentration-free flight as a bonus action and fly around eldritch blasting with advantage due to heavy obscurement.

[Talionis]

Armor of Agathys is a situationally viable spell. You will still get hit, even with SoM up. AoA just needs to be used in longer combats or as AoE against a lots of smaller enemies.

Synaptic Static is your Fireball and can be a good opener for combat to debuff and AoE.

Counterspell is good just as a catchall to keep you from being hit with a truly nasty spell. Though as you get past level 11 you’ll have access to three spells per short rest.

Also remember that you don’t need to blow through all your slots each combat, so one good offensive and defensive spell lik SoM is perfect.

Also look for tricks and combinations in your invocations. Relentless Hex is great but when you team it with Sign of I’ll Omen you can target an alley with the curse that will last all day without concentrating and be able to teleport at will back to an Ally.

Remember that you are a Warlock and there maybe times when you can summon a monster and then attack from distance with Eldritch Blast when being in melee is not to your advantage.

[Frogreaver]

In general it takes a few rounds for a combat action on an offensive buff to start ‘paying off’ offensively compared to just attacking or doing so with no buff.

If I’m already ranged EB then hex starts looking quite a bit better IMO.

I’m using shadow of moil when defense is likely to be more important than offense. Melee warlock seems I ideal here. Also, anytime fighting enemies that require los for vs strong spell effects.

[follacchioso]

It may be worth pointing out which spells do not synergize well with Shadow of Moil, which is most healing and buff spells from your allies. For example, healing word requires "a target that you can see within range", meaning your cleric and bard will not be able to heal you when you are low in HP. Thus, any spell that gives you healing may combine well with Shadow of Moil.

[DarknessEternal]

The only thing to combine with shadow of moil is the inability to attack the turn you cast it. If you can attack, do that instead. It's not worth the loss of action.