Vedalken Eldricht Knight

[RogueJK]

Fighter can be a good entry dip indeed for the con saves

Artificer is typically a better choice for a 1 level dip at the start for a caster to gain CON save proficiency. You still get Light Armor, Medium Armor, and Shield proficiency, but it doesn't slow down your spell slot progression due to the special half-caster calculations used by the Artificer class (gaining a spell level on odd numbered levels instead of even like other half-casters), and you get access to a couple additional cantrips along with a couple 1st level spells known from a spell list that's a blend of divine/nature/arcane magic so there's bound to be some options that wouldn't otherwise be available to you.

Thus, unless you're specifically planning to take Fighter 2 at some point to gain Action Surge, or you really need the fighting style or martial weapon proficiency for a gish build, Artificer 1 is typically a better choice than Fighter 1 on a spellcaster.

This is especially true for most Wizards that want armor/shield proficiency, since both Artificer and Wizard are INT-based casters.


However, I don't think dipping anything for CON save proficiency is worth it on a Bladesinger specifically, since they don't need the armor/shield proficiency, plus their access to Extra Attack is delayed to Level 6 anyway, and you don't really want to further delay it to Level 7. Most importantly, they already get +INT to Concentration checks while Bladesinging, which will apply to most serious fights. You definitely don't need both Warcaster AND CON proficiency (via dip or Resilient) on a Bladesinger.

Additionally, remember that Bladesingers are Wizards first and melee fighters second, and even with Shadow Blade they'll reach a point around spell level 4 or 5 and onward (Wizard 7+) where most of their turns are going to be better spent casting and Concentrating on bigger spells rather than wading into melee combat. And with this particular character, the fact that you only have a 13 INT will seriously cramp not only your Wizard spellcasting but also your Bladesong AC and Concentration boosts. So I'm not sure that Bladesinger would be the best choice for this PC, unless you're okay with eventually being more of a caster than a fighter, and you can swap around your ability scores to have a higher INT, such as starting 15 INT and 14 CON instead of 13 INT and 16 CON, then using Elven Accuracy to get 16 INT at Wizard 4, then doing something like Warcaster at Bladesinger 8 and 18 INT at Wizard 12. (You don't really need a 20 DEX to be an effective DEX gish in Tiers 1 and 2.)

Also realize that Bladesong requires a BA to activate, and Shadow Blade requires a BA to cast, so that's a whole turn of setup before you can be at full combat power and making Bladesinging Shadow Blade attacks starting on the 2nd turn.


Therefore, I'd recommend thinking hard and deciding which one you want to be your focus, especially in later Tier 2 and onwards: Melee fighting with a side of Wizard casting (EK X/WW 2 with your original stat spread and ASI plan), or Wizard casting with a side of melee fighting (Bladesinger with a higher INT at the start and boosting INT with ASIs)