Three thoughts.

First, there exists some level of reality warper that corresponds to some level of swordsman. The reality warper has a much higher cap, and the high level swordsman quickly goes from breaking real physics to breaking action movie physics all the way to superhero territory, but it's not intrinsically impossible to find balance points.

Second, "magic" does whatever we want it to. Rituals in 4e are notoriously underpowered compared to mundane skill uses, as well as being more widely available. Magicians in Shadowrun have to contend with drain, the fact that learning new spells costs xp, and the fact that mundane skills can achieve many of the same effects. Wizards in Dungeon World who want to create a spectacular effect are basically told "the GM will tell you what sort of adventure you'll have to go on to pull it off". D&D's conceit of an all-purpose magic man whose spells take effect in a matter of seconds and with no cost other than opportunity cost is far from the only option available. (See also: the like that fixed list casters get.)

Third, "reality warper vs. guy with pointy stick" carries baggage of its own. I want the reality warped to be pared down to "just" a pyromancer, necromancer, or what have you, and at the same time want the "muggle" to be on par with at least sherlock holmes or some other mid tier superhero. I understand that D&D tries to make a lot of people happy with all sorts of conflicting expectations, and that many of its flaws are emergent rather than intentional. But given the many steps the game has made towards that goal over editions, I don't think what I ultimately want is that bad a thing.