Wizard guide part 2: Spell review 

  

UPDATE: 2019: MY MOST 

COMPREHENSIVE WIZARD GUIDE IS 
AVAILABLE RIGHT HERE 
  

All my content can be found in one place: 

Treantmonk’s Temple 
  

Update: 2020: Guide updated to match videos by TomFinn 

  

The Color Guide: 

Blue:​ I​ love this option 

Green:​ ​This is a good option overall 

Purple:​ ​Middle of the Road - I could take or leave it 

Orange:​ T
​ he option is poor or overly Circumstantial 

Red: R
​ ed alert - This is a turkey 
Brown: ​Crap is brown, this stuff is so rank, I couldn’t even rate 
it red 

  

(xg): This spell is from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything 

  

Rule 1: Concentration is a cost that expands with your level. A 

spell cast at very low level that requires concentration is no big 
deal, what else were you going to concentrate on? However, 
when you get mid to high level, it is an ever-expanding burden. 
If you are concentrating on a fly spell, then you aren’t 
concentrating on a fear spell, or a slow spell, or a blur 
spell…etc. Therefore, when ranking spells, the exclusion of 
concentration from the requirements will affect the ranking of 
spells more the higher level we go. Here’s the exercise for you 
when selecting spells: What am I going to be concentrating on 
in battle? It’s not always an easy question to answer, but it 
makes spell selection way easier. 

  

Note: I was used to older editions where material components 

were consumed with the spell. Please note that if a spell 
description doesn’t specifically say the component is 
consumed, then it is a one time cost. If you notice anywhere 
where I’ve said a spell has a costly component for every 
casting, when it’s actually a one time cost - I would appreciate 
if you let me know. 
  

  

Cantrips 
Abjuration 

Blade Ward:​ You use your regular action to get resistance to weapon damage. That seems like you 
are giving up an awful lot. If you are in the situation where you might need this spell, consider 
getting out of dodge instead. There are circumstantial situations where this may still be useful, thus 
the rating. 

  

Conjuration 

Acid Splash:​ A basic damaging Cantrip. The damage is poor and it gives a save for NO damage. The 
only advantage is that you can potentially hit a second target if it is close. I don’t think it’s worth it. 

  

Mage Hand: T ​ he classic minor telekinesis spell. Mage hand has always been useful, and it remains 
so. Yes, I would much rather open the door from 30 feet away thank you. Yes, I would much rather 
open the strange container from 30 feet away thank you. Pull the level that drops the drawbridge, 
grab the wizard’s staff from his bedstand, or any of many other possible uses. 

  

Poison Spray:​ The damage on this is quite good, though they get a saving throw to avoid the 
damage, and, more importantly, the range is AWFUL. I’ve heard this is a good spell if you get stuck in 
melee. That’s crazy! If you get stuck in melee, your best option is to get out of melee. 

  

(xg)​Create Bonfire 

For a low level caster, I think this is quite good. You get a standard “dex save or take damage” 
cantrip and you can also use it as a terrain effect, to plug choke points and the like. Furthermore, 
there is some utility there as it ignites flammable materials. The issue with this cantrip is that it does 
not level well. As you get higher level, the concentration requirement is only going to become more 
restrictive. My rating here is for lower levels, at higher levels don’t waste your concentration on 
cantrips! 

  
(xg)​Infestation: 

There are a number of reasons this gets a low rating. It targets Con, the range is bad, it does poison 
damage (for which immunity is relatively common), and it does poor damage. Moving the target 5’ 
in a random direction (That does not provoke attacks of opportunity) is going to be useful very rarely 
at best. 

  

Divination 

True Strike:​ ​Use one action to get advantage on one attack, this is simply not a good deal. That it 
requires concentration as well makes it a lousy deal. There may be specialized builds to make use of 
this, but the standard wizard should just avoid it. 

  

Enchantment 

Friends: ​You get advantage on Charisma checks against one target (I’m assuming that’s not just 
making friends, but also intimidation or deception for example) for one minute and it requires 
concentration. The big drawback is that when the minute is up, the target knows he’s been had. 
This is still likely to be occasionally useful, but only really for short-term one-time interactions. The 
Bard is still going to be better at any of this stuff even without casting this. 

  

Evocation 

Dancing Lights:​ I’ve always liked this spell and I still do. Unlike the light spell, you can create four 
different points of light that you can send to 4 different points up to 120 feet away. It does require 
concentration and a bonus action to move, but still useful for lighting up points in the distance 
without lighting up you and your party like a big bullseye. 

  

Fire Bolt: ​This is very much the standard by which all other damage-cantrips are measured. It’s no 
eldritch blast, but it’s still a pretty decent blast for a Cantrip. Damage is decent, range is decent, it 
improves with your level, and it has no save (though it requires a to hit roll), overall, a pretty decent 
fallback spell, well worth picking up. 

  

Light: T​ his is your standard “light up the darkness” spell. It is brighter than dancing lights and it lasts 
an hour without concentration. In many cases it’s just going to be a better option than dancing 
lights, but keep in mind, that at least when you first cast it, it’s going to light up you and your 
companions. Consider using a mage hand to hold the light a bit away from you. You will still be 
illuminated, but with dim light only. ​meoka2368 on Reddit says, “​You can cast light on a rock and put it in a lantern. 
Bullseye to not light yourselves, or hooded to try to stay hidden. Can be put in a pocket to "turn off" until needed. If cast on a 
sling bullet, you can fire it at a group of baddies and make them easy to hit even if you miss, while keeping yourselves in the 
darkness (giving them disadvantage, unless they have darkvision).” Good points. 

  

Ray of Frost:​ Half the range of Fire Bolt and less damage, but the creature loses 10’ speed for a 
round (no save). Overall, this is a pretty decent trade off. Use it to keep your enemy at a distance. 

  

Shocking Grasp:​ This spell removes a creature’s reaction (and does a bit of damage). The 
requirements are too high though, it requires a range of touch and a to hit roll. That’s a lot of 
requirement to remove a single reaction. It has been suggested to me to use this spell to replace a 
disengage (to get your wizard out of melee). However, this proposition is a bad gamble. You trade a 
100% chance to disengage (by just using the disengage action) for less than 100% chance to 
disengage (with the added benefit of some lousy cantrip damage). More persuasive commenters 
have mentioned using Shocking grasp in highly convoluted scenarios where it may prevent 
particularly nasty uses of a reaction. These scenarios remain very circumstantial, but if you see 
them as a possibility, there may be some use for you with this cantrip. 

(xg)​Thunderclap​:​The obvious perceived advantage of this spell is you can potentially damage 
several creatures. Unfortunately, the disadvantages of this spell are numerous. First and foremost, 
you need to get within 5’ of all targets (which “ideally” puts you in the middle of a bunch of enemies). 
This first problem is big enough I don’t really need to go over the other ones in detail (Con save, poor 
damage). 

  

(xg)​Frostbite:​ ​Mechanically, this spell is very close to the Bard Cantrip Vicious Mockery. This spell 
does slightly more damage but targets a traditionally stronger save ability (I would take the weaker 
save and less damage any day). It’s a good idea to have both a cantrip attack that requires a to hit 
roll, and another that requires a save (as the save cantrip can be used in a case where you would 
have disadvantage or the opponent has a high AC). There isn’t a great selection of those spells, and 
this is one of the better ones. 

  

Illusion 

Minor Illusion: ​They made illusions a forever use Cantrip? This should ALWAYS be on your list. If 
you are not overly creative, let me give you a couple examples that make it worth it all on their own. 
1) Remember Blade Ward when I said “get out of dodge instead”? Make an illusionary stone wall 
between you and your enemy and back away. 2) Put yourself in an illusionary wooden box and cast 
spells out of it 3) The illusionary hiding Halfling with a shortbow makes a great distraction (to all 
those who say, “the spell says “object” Treantmonk, not “creature”), fine, it’s a hiding Halfling with a 
shortbow that’s been petrified. 
  

Necromancy 

Chill Touch: ​It does slightly less damage than Firebolt, but has a couple circumstantial benefits. 
Probably overall it’s of similar value. 

  

Toll the dead: ​For a straight “save or take damage” cantrip, this is the best Wizard option, and I 
would say clearly so. Wisdom save isn’t bad, and 1d8 base is OK, 1d12 against damaged creatures is 
really good. Range is decent, overall, this might even be the best damage spell, I would put it a bit 
ahead of fire bolt and ray of frost (though I would probably take one “to hit” damage cantrip too) 

  

Transmutation 

Mending: ​This is a useful, if circumstantial utility spell. Probably worth your selection, but you can 
live without it. 

  

Message:​ I like this spell. Essentially it’s a limited telepathy. A great way to give secret advice to 
other characters when involved in a social interaction. Also a good way for sneaky characters to 
communicate without making much noise. Who needs thieves cant? 

  

Prestidigitation: T
​ he spell that does everything. It’s basically your catch-all magic trick spell. You 
aren’t bringing down mountains with Prestidigitation, but I often find it useful in social interactions, 
or just for some fun roleplaying. The party gets dry rations, and the Wizard gets a hot and tasty 
gourmet meal! 

  

  

  

(xg)​Control Flames: 

First off, if you don’t expect to have a reasonably consistent source of non-magical flame handy, this 
is not worth a cantrip slot, however, if you plan to hold a torch, there are a few neat abilities, though 
it's pretty circumstantial stuff. 

  
(xg)​Gust:​The mechanical effects of this are pretty mild, and since a saving throw is offered, this isn’t 
even something I would use to escape melee. Unless your enemy is standing beside a cliff, or 5’ 
away from a horrible magical effect, this is going to not see much use. 

  

(xg)​Mold earth:​This may be the least useful of all the “element manipulation” Cantrips. Really 
nothing of value here. Make difficult terrain over 5’ square (or drop some caltrops), dig a hole (if the 
earth is loose). I might occasionally find a use for this spell, but it’s definitely not worth one of your 
few Cantrip selections. 

  

(xg)​Shape water:​You can a number of abilities with water, the immediate standout is the ability to 
freeze a 5 foot cube of water. This lasts one hour, and you can do it multiple times. You can also 
change the flow of water to any direction you want, so raise the water 1 foot - freeze, water behind it 
2 feet - freeze, behind that 3 feet - freeze. Ice steps! Good utility here. However, obviously this is 
going to be highly circumstantial for most campaigns (for a water based campaign, it would be rated 
higher) 

  

Level 1 
Abjuration 

Alarm​ ​(Blue for Abjurers):​ ​A lovely little night time sentry that will save you when your Elven 
Ranger can’t make his perception check, but by the time you reach level 5, Leomunds Tiny Hut, 
Alarm is no longer useful. If you are an Abjurer, you can use this to activate or replenish your 
Arcane Ward without using a spell slot. Consider casting 6 times to recover 12 hit points to your 
Arcane Ward if your allies need a short rest but you don’t. Ritual. 

  

Mage Armor:​ Here’s how this works: If you have gained armor proficiency from any source, you 
don’t need this spell, if you haven’t, then you do. It doesn’t make you hard to hit, but you will be hit 
significantly less with Mage Armor. It lasts a long time and it doesn’t need concentration. It’s pretty 
much a must-have. 

  

Protection from Evil and Good:​ It protects against a very limited range of creatures for a limited 
duration and it requires concentration. If you know you are going to fight such creatures, and you 
have a Tank in your party (especially if they’re good at lockdown) who is going to draw attacks/ weak 
to charm, then this spell can be really good, but its overly circumstantial. 

  
Shield:​ Use a reaction to turn a hit into a very likely miss. Oh, and the protection continues through 
the round. What better to use a reaction on? The magic missile protection is circumstantial but it’s 
not why you want this spell. 

  

(xg)​Absorb elements:​ ​This is a pretty good spell spell, but it’s tailored a bit more to a melee 
combatant than a Wizard. The resistance ability is all you are really getting here, and it’s one round 
duration, but at least you can bring it up when you need it. This certainly I think abetter spell than 
Protection From Energy. At lower levels this spell is circumstantial, but at higher levels it is going to 
come up a lot, and not only reduce damage but make it easier to keep concentration on a spell. A 
high level wizard I play will almost always have absorb elements. 

  

(xg)​Snare: T
​ rap spells are pretty rare, and this one is decent. You create a 5’ area of trapped ground 
where a creature of small, medium or large size makes a Dex save or is hoisted into the air upside 
down and is restrained. There are a number of ways to avoid and/or get out of the trap once 
triggered, still, in the right circumstance, this is a nice little trap, and it won’t take your concentration. 
This must be done beforehand though, as it has a one minute casting time. I originally rated this as 
purple, but the more I thought about it, I thought it was orange. In the right circumstances it could 
be useful, but I think it most adventures it would be hard to use. 

  

Conjuration 

Find Familiar:​ Familiars are fantastic. Always have been, and they continue to be. Note that 
familiars can’t attack in combat, but they can take the “help action”. They can “help” every round if 
you like (please note I’m referring to “ability checks”, the way I read it, they cannot “help” with attack 
rolls). They also deliver touch spells, provide scouting, etc. Nice use of a spell selection. 

  

I was corrected on this account. The Familiar can provide the “Help” action in combat (as well as 
work as a “sneak attack” ally). Source: 
http://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/12/02/two-familiar-questions/ 

http://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/11/25/can-a-familiar-use-help-to-grant-advantage-at-range/ 

  

I don’t have a rating higher to give this spell, but if I had it, it would be that rating. 

  

Fog Cloud:​ Create an area of heavy obscurement. I’ve always liked Fog cloud, and I’ve explained in 
multiple threads in the past ways it can be used. Here’s a condensed list: 1
​ ) Throw over enemy archers 
to force them out of cover/into melee with your BSF 2) Screw up an enemy caster by ruining line of sight 3) 
Protect yourself from enemy melee attackers by throwing up heavy obscurement. Note that concentration is 
required. 

  

Grease:​ 10’ area of dex save or fall prone. Prone creatures are attacked by your BSF with 
advantage. Also a great way to grant the rogue sneak attack. Also nearly immobilizes the enemy for 
a round since they have to get up then leave difficult terrain. Works great for choke points as well. 
Also, as it does not require concentration it becomes a good option at higher level to cast while not 
competing with other spells, like web. 

  

Tenser's Floating Disk:​ ​Basically a magic wheel barrow that lasts an hour and can carry 500 pounds 
of weight. Unfortunately the time taken to cast it as a ritual makes the duration painfully inefficient. 
I’m not taking it with spell selection, but I’ll gladly scribe it if found. Ritual 

  

Unseen Servant:​ This is basically mage hand squared. Longer duration, longer range, more weight. 
Otherwise, basically the same. Worthy of a ritual, but not a selected spell. 

  

(xg)​Ice knife:​ ​So you have to make an attack roll (1d10 damage on a hit), then the creature gets a 
save (or takes 2d6 more). On its own, that’s absolutely awful. However, the secondary damage is a 
5’ radius burst effect, which makes this a ranged area of effect spell, not something you normally get 
at first level. The more and more I look at it, the more I think the damage is just not great damage, 
so I have lowered my rating. 

  

  

​Divination 

Comprehend Languages:​ This ritual is technically circumstantial, but to be honest, I can’t think of 
the last campaign I was in where it didn’t find use. A decent spell, a great ritual. 

  

Detect Magic: U ​ nlimited detect magic (it’s a ritual) – I’ve seen that somewhere before… It’s definitely 
useful and well worth having. Maybe even as a spell selection. I’m always going to take it at first level 
keep it as a ritual spell. Not only does it help quickly pick the loot worth carrying from the enemies 
you just dropped, it can warn you of explosive runes or other traps. 

  
Identify:​ 5
​ e is pretty lax with the whole identifying magic items thing, so I’m not sure this spell is 
necessary most of the time. It does provide a lot of information, but it also has a 100gp material 
component (not consumed so 1 time cost). Ritual spell 

  

Enchantment 

Charm Person:​ Simple wisdom save or humanoid treats you as a friend for an hour. The 
“humanoid” part is problematic because it makes the spell circumstantial, and the charmed 
condition isn’t as good as it sounds. 

  

Sleep: ​This spell has traditionally been great at low levels and increasingly worse as you increase 
level, and look at that, tradition holds! At first level this spell is practically god-like (NO SAVE!). 5d8 is 
normally going to affect about 23 HP worth of creatures. That’s like 3 goblins! Or 0 trolls. See what I 
mean? 

  

Tasha's Hideous Laughter: T ​ hrow the enemy to the ground, leave it there while you kill his 
buddies, then surround him and finish him off with advantage on attacks. That’s how this spell looks 
when all the pieces fall in the right place. Keep in mind there are saving throws that can muck up 
the works, also there are some (not horribly crippling) restrictions on applicable targets. 

  

Evocation 

Burning Hands (​ Purple for Evokers):​ T

​ his is a blast spell which does pretty lackluster damage, 
provides a saving throw for half damage, and has short range. The only saving grace is you can piss 
off more than one target at a time! Thunderwave has better range, area of effect, secondary effect, 
better damage type, and does about the same damage. Take Thunderwave instead. 

  

Chromatic Orb:​ ​50 gp Component (one time cost). 3d8 damage means 14 average on a hit (attack 
roll required). That’s slightly higher than Magic Missile, but with the to hit requirement and the 
element type (meaning a better chance for resistance), it’s not as good IMO. While people may say 
the point is to take advantage of vulnerabilities, I find that energy vulnerabilities are quite rare, so 
while I could potentially avoid resistances, Magic Missile is force damage, and very few creatures are 
resistant to that. 

  

Magic Missile:​ 3 darts doing 1d4+1 damage each (not stellar, but OK). They auto-hit, there is no 
save, and the range is decent. If you want to blast, this is the first level selection I recommend. The 
damage mechanics are not clear in the PHB, so people differ on how to work out the damage. 
Traditionalists like me roll each darts damage seperately, but Jeremy Crawford has stated that for 
each target that is hit by a dart, roll 1d4+1, and multiply that by the number of darts that hit that 
target. This may be important if you are an Evoker with with Empowered Evocation, but I’m guessing 
most tables roll each dart seperately. 

  

Thunderwave ​(Blue for Evokers): T ​ his is my favourite 1​st​ level spell for area of effect damage. The 
reason is, it affects 9 squares which is a big area to cover, it does 2d8 damage which is reasonable, 
and it is thunder damage which is a good type of damage. We also get the possibility of pushback on 
a failed saving throw which may allow you to retreat without taking an opportunity attack. So why 
would anyone take burning hands? Evokers can use this spell better than anyone else as Sculpt 
Spells means they do not have to worry about friendly fire, which may allow them to hit more 
enemies. This spell does not scale well, so while it is good at 1​st​ and 2​nd​ level, by 5​th​ level it is off my 
list as it does not do enough damage to be worth preparing.  

  

Witch Bolt:​ ​So I have this friend named Jeff who really loved this spell upon reading it, and this is 
how it went when he started to use it: Round 1) True strike Round 2) Witch bolt Round 3) I get to 
auto-hit this round (unless it moves out of range or behind cover)! What do you mean the combat’s 
already over! Personally, I think the spell reads better than it plays, and it uses up concentration, 
scales terribly… don’t pick this. 

  

(xg)​Earth tremor (​ Orange for Evokers)​:​ ​OK, so there is a fair bit going on here. You get a 10’ radius 
effect (centered on you), that can do damage and knock prone on a failed save. Although I can see 
circumstances where this spell could be a game-changer, I don’t like the “centered on you” aspect 
enough that I can’t recommend it. It’s going to be dangerous to get in position, and friendly fire will 
be an issue. 

  

Illusion 

Color Spray:​ ​This fills a similar niche to sleep. It affects 6d10 hp which means you are looking at an 
average of 33 HP vs 23, however, the effect is 1 round of blindness, which is quite inferior. Also you 
get lousy range. Overall, I think it’s quite a bit worse. 

  

Disguise Self (​ Green in the right campaign): ​ I used to rate this as red, but I have used it in a 
couple of campaigns, because it is a quick and reliable disguise. Its still circumstantial, doesn’t last a 
long time, and I think it should be a ritual, but for a 1 hour duration spell that doesn’t use 
concentration it can be useful, so I have upped its rating. If you are playing an espionage campaign 
this could be a lot more useful, possibly deserving a green rating. 
  

Illusory Script: H ​ as a 10gp material component, and I’m trying very hard to think of a practical use 
for this spell. There has got to be a way that this spell is more useful than the message Cantrip, I just 
can’t think of it. (Some people have suggested that you could use this to send a message to allies 
without worrying that enemy spies could intercept it. To me, this is wildly circumstantial. I think the 
average character should avoid it.) Ritual 

  

Silent Image (Blue for level 14+ Illusionists): ​I should mention that part of my rating for this spell 
is my assumption that Minor Image creates a stationary image. If you and your DM assume 
otherwise, there is a more significant amount of redundancy here. Silent image has more range and 
creates a larger image as well. Naturally, tricking the enemy with some form of reinforcement 
approaching is always fun, though I still tend to favor the illusionary fog/illusionary wall, which does 
create some redundancy with minor illusion, thus I’m rating this a bit lower than I have in previous 
editions. Remember that if you know something is an illusion, you can see through it, which has its 
benefits and drawbacks. Level 14 and above Illusionists can use Illusory Reality to make any Illusion 
real for 1 minute, and poof! You’ve used a 1​st​ level spell to create a 5​th​ level effect (Wall of 
Force/Stone), and you no longer need to concentrate on it. If you are not an Illusionist, then at mid 
to high levels, you probably wont want to use this anymore. 

  

Necromancy 

False Life (Almost Orange): ​Grant yourself some extra temporary HP. Not what I plan to do with 
my first level spell slots, it’s not awful, but I prefer spells that allow you to avoid damage rather than 
take more of it. At higher levels there are many other sources of temporary HP, so not much 
incentive to waste a preparation. 

  

Ray of Sickness (Almost Orange): ​What a nice little debuff. You do 2d8 damage to a target, but 
they also must make a save or have the “poisoned” condition for a round. “Poisoned” gives you 
disadvantage on all attacks and ability checks. I think the drawback of this spell is pretty obvious – it 
requires a to hit roll AND provides a saving throw, and worse, the saving throw is constitution. 
Through play I have also realized that so many creatures are immune to poison that it makes this 
spell circumstantial, plus many more creatures are resistant to poison which lessens the damage, 
and so I’ve downgraded it from green to purple. Not even good for Necromancers. 

  

(xg)​Cause Fear: ​This causes (on failed Wis save) the frightened condition in one opponent. Unlike 
with Fear, they do not need to run away, it just creates the condition, for which they get a save every 
round. Note that the Frightened condition is pretty inconvenient, but not debilitating unless you 
have some kind of synergy with the frightened condition (like a Conquest Paladin may have), if you 
are looking for a first level spell that actually debilitates an opponent, I would direct you to Tasha’s 
Hideous Laughter. This spell does provide additional targets when used with a higher slot. This 
makes it a better choice for a multi-classed caster, who has higher level slots, but not higher level 
spells. 

  

Transmutation 

Expeditious Retreat (Close to Green):​ For the first time in the history of this spell, you can actually 
move more on the round you cast it! Lovely. As always, this spell should be called “improved 
maneuverability” instead of “expeditious retreat” since it is used for much more than retreat. The 
bonus action casting is lovely, the concentration to maintain is not. It is severely outclassed by misty 
step. 

  

Feather Fall (​ Green for some characters or campaigns):​ ​You can save the whole party now, that’s 
kind of nice. Still a wildly circumstantial spell though, as it has always been. Less so if have a flying 
mount, flying ship, flying campaign, or wings. 

  

Jump: H
​ ow on earth is this spell still around? A point people often misss- this does not increase your 
movement. 

  

Longstrider:​ Increase maneuverability of one creature for one hour (no concentration). A pretty 
subtle buff, but I’ve seen it put to use effectively (I saw a Druid use this to take down a Troll pretty 
much singlehandedly at low level). You don’t always know when you are going to need this, so I 
think it’s kind of middle of the road. It does however scale better than Expeditious Retreat, as it 
doesn’t require concentration. 

  

(xg)​Catapult:​So, for most uses of this, it’s going to be Dex save or 3d8 damage (no damage on 
successful save). That’s really not all that great for using a spell slot (consider magic missile will give 
3d4+3 without a save). The range is decent (and you can potentially strike a target up to 240’ away), 
and I love the visuals, but an all or nothing damage spell (with moderate damage) isn’t going to be 
an overly useful spell for a god wizard. 

Level 2 
Abjuration 
Arcane Lock:​ For an adventurer who is always going to new locations, this is a pretty bad spell. 
Ultimately, you can use it to create a bolt hole, but there is a material component cost which means 
you normally won’t even want to use it for that. When you become rich and famous, and build that 
great wizard’s tower, arcane lock it up. Until then, not worth your selection. 

  

Conjuration 

Cloud of Daggers:​ Expect approximately 10 points of damage from this spell with no save, so not 
too bad, and it can be used at a choke point to potentially hit multiple targets. I figure a 2​nd​ level 
spell should be doing more damage though. Also, concentration is required. Its tactical use brings it 
up from red to orange. 

  

Flaming Sphere​:​ ​I think this is much better than Cloud of Daggers. Yes, the damage is less (expect 7 
points average) and the spell grants a saving throw for half damage. However, you can hit multiple 
opponents with this spell, also, and this is the main thing, you can move it to where it is needed. 
Also, as this uses a bonus action, we can combine its crappy damage with crappy cantrip damage 
and get okay damage. Wizards are not usually very good at doing damage, especially to single 
targets, and this allows us to fill a role in the party we usually can’t. If you or another party member 
uses Booming Blade, then this pairs very well with that, as creatures hit with both have to choose 
whether to take the extra damage from Booming Blade, or they take the Flaming Sphere damage 
again.. 

  

  

Misty Step​: TELEPORT! OPPORTUNITY ATTACK AVOIDING, BONUS ACTION TELEPORT! While these 
things are still true, as I have played I have realized that not being able to cast another spell (other 
than a cantrip) on the same turn means it is not as good as I first thought. It is still a great spell, and 
if I am playing an Enchanter, I will definitely take this as it combines very well with Hypnotic Gaze. 

  

Web:​ ​ This spell does exactly what a God Wizard wants: battlefield control. If you cast this on a group 
of enemies, some will fail their save and be restrained. They will need to make a strength check, not 
saving throw, to escape. This could be affected by Hex, and it requires an action to break free. Now 
your party is fighting a trickle of enemies instead of a flood. If all the enemies are trapped, then now 
your friends are having a great time rolling advantage against your enemies. To make the web reach 
full height you need snchor points, but it works perfectly well layered on the floor. There are 
disadvantages to this spell, mainly that creatures usually have a good dex or strength, so can escape 
one way or the other. This is worse than similar spells at higher levels, but it is your only option at 
low levels, and even when you have better spells, this one only uses a level 2 slot. I would think 
about stopping preparing this at 5​th​ or 7​th​ level. 
  

(xg)​Dust devil ​(conjuration):​ S

​ pells like this annoy me, because I know there are players out there 
who will pick this having not read closely the effects only to be disappointed later when they realize 
they wasted their spell option. Do damage, send creatures flying and obscure vision all sound great, 
but you are likely not going to do that. Creatures have to end their turn next to this effect to have 
any chance of damage or movement, and even then, they get a Strength save (targeting Strength for 
saves is not good), and if they make the save, nothing. You can move the effect, but even if you 
move it right on top of an enemy, no damage or movement unless they stay right there their next 
turn and fail their saving throw. Dust Devil, spells like you are why I have a red rating. 

  

​Divination 

Detect Thoughts:​ As mentioned in the spell description, this spell is particularly useful in 
interrogation. Otherwise, the former use of this spell as magic radar are gone. Useful, but very 
circumstantial. It can also locate hidden or invisible creatures, but only over a short range, and you 
still can not see them, you only know where they are. 

  

Locate Object: ​Obviously, many D&D adventures involve the hunt for a certain item. If the princess 
has sent you on a quest to find her missing engagement ring, stolen by thieves, does this make the 
item familiar to you? My personal interpretation is no, which makes this spell not so good. Also, the 
range small, so if you are trying to locate something in a city, this wont help you much. It may be 
more helpful if you are looking in a smaller area, but looking for something specific and familiar to 
you in a dungeon seems very circumstantial to me. 

  

See Invisibility:​ I don’t have to tell you that in 9/10 combats, this spell is useless and in 1/10 
combats, it’s essential. It makes this spell hard to rate, but I think in the end, you eventually want 
access to this by some means. I tend to prefer spells with broader use, but you can really end up 
screwed if you don’t have this when you need it. 

  

(xg)​Mind Spike​: ​As a straight out damage spell, this is not very good. The secondary effect of 
making a creature’s location known to you could be very helpful against select opponents, but once 
again, circumstantial. It also uses your concentration if you want to keep the secondary effect, and it 
scales poorly. 

  

Enchantment 
Crown of Madness:​ Make the baddie kill his buddies, got to like that. Lots of limitation here, just 
like with Hold person. Concentration, humanoid only, saving throw every round. Sigh. 

  

Hold Person:​ Paralyzed is a devastating condition that said, the narrow scope of this spell kills it for 
me. Concentration, saving throw every round, must be cast on a humanoid. It’s just too much 
limitation. 

  

Suggestion: N ​ ow the effect of this spell is significantly more subtle than Crown of Madness or Hold 
Person, however note that there is only one save, and the humanoid-only restriction is gone. This 
makes it a more valuable spell as far as I’m concerned. There are lots of threads with ideas of how 
to use this spell (which had similar use in previous editions), so if you don’t know how to use it, a 
simple google will help you out. This spell depends heavily on your DM, and if your DM is quite 
liberal and allows you to, for example, “suggest” an enemy becomes an ally, then its almost broken. 
More conservative DMs should still allow you to do things like “suggest” that an enemy goes far 
away. This combines very well with a Diviner’s Portent. 

  

Evocation 

Continual Flame: T ​ here was a time, long ago, when you got a limited number of Cantrips every day. 
In those days long past, there was a certain attractiveness to creating a torch that lasted forever. 
Those days are gone, and cantrips (or heaven forfend, an actual lantern and some oil) are just better 
at being a source of light. A use was suggested to me, that you can use it to get rid of the darkness 
spell, essentially for free as you can have the Continual Flame permanently. This is very 
circumstantial, but has bumped the spell up to orange. 

  

Darkness​: Unless you are a Warlock with Devil’s sight, this spell is pretty redundant with Fog Cloud. 
Is the ability to move the dark covered area worth an additional spell level? Maybe if it wasn’t half 
the range, a sixth of the duration, and a smaller area. As it is, fog cloud is going to cover this need 
adequately. Sorlocks or Warlocks may continue to use this at higher levels, but for Wizards there are 
better uses for your concentration. 

  

Gust of Wind:​ ​This is a pretty minor battlefield control. Essentially you are pushing away enemies 
and creating difficult terrain for them to close with you. The 10’ wide area allows a lot of 
work-around for enemies in many battles unfortunately. Also, friendly fire can be an issue in the 
battles where you have limited space. Still, this isn’t a terrible way to keep enemies at bay while you 
blast them with other spells. Unfortunately the concentration requirement means you are less 
effective offensively, so I find this spell is only really a good choice when you want to push your 
enemies, say off a bridge or cliff. Keep in mind that a Warlock with the Repelling Blast invocation can 
use their Eldritch Blast to do this for free. 

  

Melf's Acid Arrow:​ I’ve never liked this spell and nothing has changed. If a spell does damage only, 
then the damage needs to be decent. I can do as much damage by making my magic missile a 
second level spell, and I don’t need to worry about acid resistance or making a hit roll. 

  

Scorching Ray:​ W ​ e’re looking at an average damage of 21 damage if the rays hit. Expect 2 rays to 
hit most of the time, meaning you are probably looking at something like 14 points of damage (give 
or take). Compare this to an upcast magic missile, which averages 13 points of damage, but more 
consistently and a better damage type. To me this makes it not worth the preparation slot, especially 
as I could still cast Magic missile at level 1. 

  

Shatter:​ So they turned the fun and useful shatter into a weak area blast? 3d8 damage is 14 
damage on average, with a save for half. Considering it’s an area spell, that’s not awful, but it’s not 
wonderful either. Still can be used to shatter unattended objects, but unattended objects were 
never the ones I loved to shatter. Still probably the best area of effect blast spell at this level, but as 
soon as you get Fireball you will not want this anymore. 

  

(xg)​Aganazzar’s scorcher​:​Lots of things wrong with this spell. The damage isn’t where a 2​nd​ level 
spell should be. Line shapes are the worst spell shape. The range isn’t good. 

  

(xp)​Snilloc’s snowball swarm:​ ​A ranged area of effect (5’ radius) blast that does 3d6 damage on a 
failed save. How this didn’t get fixed between elemental evil and Xanathar’s is beyond me. Look at 
Shatter - these are the same level spells, and Shatter isn’t an amazing spell or anything, it’s just this 
spell is that bad. 

  

(xp)​Warding Wind: T ​ he uses here are fog-clearing, flame clearing, difficult terrain, ranged defense. 
None of these are amazing, but they add up. Unfortunately the latter two uses rely on you not being 
close to allies, and in general there are better defensive spells at this level, so I have downgraded my 
rating to orange. 

Illusion 
Blur:​ ​Causes disadvantage on all attacks for you for the duration. Uses up your concentration and 
only lasts a minute, and as I have continued to play, I have realized that the concentration is a bigger 
drawback than I originally thought. It prevents you from being an effective caster, in particular if you 
are a God Wizard who wants to use battlefield controls and debuffs. If you are an Evoker who 
concentrates on blasting, then layering this with Mirror Image is a good option. 

  

Invisibility: W
​ e all know this spell is lots of fun and always has been. Unfortunately, the spell now 
ends if you cast ANY spell, which closes up some lovely loopholes that there used to be. Still pretty 
handy though. Remember that unless you make a hide check, enemies still know where you are, but 
will have disadvantage on attack rolls against you and you can not be targeted by anything that 
requires line of sight, and the spell allows to hide out in the open. Out of combat this spell comes in 
handy all the time, e.g. for scouting or breaking and entering. 

  

Magic Mouth:​ I haven’t really come up with any creative and overly useful applications of this spell, 
and there is a 10gp price tag as well. Mainly, I see it as a theft deterrent (i.e. it triggers if anyone but 
you touches your money purse for example). If you want to hook up 56 of these spells to make a 
telephone, or 24 to make a magic proof burglar alarm, or many more to make a sound based 
computer, I hope your DM likes you. Ritual 

  

Mirror Image: ​So which is better, this spell or Blur? The answer I think is pretty definitively this 
spell. I think it is more likely to turn a hit into a miss, and it doesn’t require concentration. The 
limited uses is worth the benefits. I may not cast this in combat, but if I have the chance to prepare, 
it is definitely worth it. Isn’t it sad though that none of the good 2​nd​ level defense spells are in the 
abjuration school? Isn’t that what abjuration is supposed to do? Instead it’s locking a door. 

  

Nystul's Magic Aura: ​SO circumstantial that it really should have a permanent duration. It doesn’t. 

  

Phantasmal Force:​ ​Basically an illusion that affects one target and provides him 2 saving throws, 
however, note that the saving throws are INT (and the second save isn’t until the targets round), so 
probably best targeted on opponents you know have a low Int score. The damage is lousy, so the 
main use of this is to tie up a creature that is concentrating on whatever illusion you’ve created. The 
effectiveness of this spell varies wildly based on how you DM treats it. If you are an Illusionist with 
Malleable Illusions, then depending on your DM who lets you get creative, then you may want to 
look at this spell more closely as you can reuse and reshape this spell. 

  

(xg)​Shadow Blade: ​Obviously you will never cast this for yourself, but look to your left and right, do 
you see someone who attacks multiple times per round with a one handed weapon (finesse or no) 
that is non-magical? If the answer is yes, then this is not a bad buff. You can expect to increase their 
damage significantly, and provide the magic required to avoid some resistances. You don’t provide 
the bonus to hit that magic weapon does, and the duration is not nearly as good. That said, the 
damage boost is likely greater, and in certain circumstances this provides a bonus to hit. Like magic 
weapon this is a bonus action to cast. I would probably gravitate to this more if being in dim light or 
darkness is common in the campaign. 

  

Necromancy 

Blindness/Deafness:​ I don’t like targeting Con saves, since creatures tend to have good Con scores. 
That said, this is pretty simply a save or be screwed spell. If you like that kind of spell, this is a good 
option for the level of the spell. Furthermore, no concentration is an added boost. If you are a 
Diviner with Portent, this spell is probably b
​ lue​ for you. 

  

Gentle Repose:​ The use of this is pretty self-explanatory, and hopefully never needed. Still, it’s a 
ritual, so if you can get it on your spell list it’s worth it. I wouldn’t pick it in spell selection though. 

  

Ray of Enfeeblement: ​Causes a creature to do half damage with strength based attacks. Here’s the 
downsides: It requires a to-hit roll, it provides a constitution saving throw every round, it is single 
target, and it requires concentration. 

  

Transmutation 

Alter Self: ​You used to be able to fly with this spell, but they’ve cut that off. Now it’s limited water 
breathing plus disguise self plus a third use you will never use. 

  

Darkvision:​ ​60 foot darkvision. I think that’s a pretty circumstantial spell, even if you aren’t one of 
the many races that get it included. On the up side, the duration is good and it doesn’t require 
concentration. If all the party bar one has darkvision, then this spell can be really useful. At higher 
levels you could even consider casting this on multiple party members. 

  

Enlarge/Reduce: ​Whether used as a buff or as a debuff, the results of this are normally going to be 
pretty unspectacular mechanically. (Reader suggestion: Use on the locked door and reduce it, who 
needs knock?) 

  
Knock​: Most locks and stuck doors can be circumvented without use of a spell. Proficiency in 
thieves tools is easy for any character to get by selection of one of multiple backgrounds. These 
things limit the use of this spell. 

  

Levitate:​ ​More versatile than you originally expect. It can be used for utility (scaling the cliff or 
castle walls or to the floating castle), It can be used for defense (perfect defense against creatures 
that can’t fly and have no or weak ranged attacks). It can be used as a debuff (Levitate the creature 
that has little or no ranged attacks and kill his buddies, then finish him off with ranged attacks) 

I had upgraded this spell to blue, but I have now put it back down to green, as in higher level 
combats more enemies have the ability to fly, and targeting constitution saving throw or nothing 
happens is not great. Useful at level 3 or 4 when I want versatility in the few spells I have, at higher 
levels I may not prepare this anymore. 

Magic Weapon: ​This spell is a bonus action to cast, requires concentration, which turns a 
non-magical weapon into a +1 weapon. To begin with, this spell does not scale well at all, as 
eventually everyone who needs it will have a magic weapon anyway. This could be really useful in a 
super low magic campaign, where your allies are fighting creatures that often have resistance to non 
magical damage, and they have no magic weapons of their own. 

Rope Trick:​ 1 hour duration? This used to be the ultimate camping spell (better than any spell 
Leomund came up with), but no more. Now it’s a safe short rest spell and nothing more. I guess 
you use the Arcane Recovery to recover the Rope Trick slot? Once you get Leomunds Tiny Hut, you 
no longer want this spell. 

  

Spider Climb: ​I think there is some pretty clear redundancy with Levitate here, and I think Levitate is 
the better spell to prepare in most situations. There are certain situations where spider climb is 
better, and the duration is longer, but overall, it’s just less useful. 

  

(xg)​Dragon’s Breath: ​For the most part, a PC can do better than a 3d6 breath attack, so this isn’t 
usually going to be a show-stopper buff. That said, what if you cast it on your phantom steed? Or 
on one of the Druid’s summoned pixies or mephits? Or the Hexblade’s Specter? What about on the 
Druid who wildshaped into a bird? Then a 3d6 cone attack every round is probably worth your 
concentration. Requires some planning, but there are possibilities. 

  

(xg)​Earthbind: S
​ ometimes when you are fighting a flying creature, you don’t have a lot of options. 
In those cases, this gives you one that can potentially make that creature landborne. That said, 
there are some very serious issues with this spell that you should consider. First is that it targets 
Strength, so don’t expect to bring down a dragon unless it is very unlucky. Secondly, it requires 
concentration. These two factors make this a heavy investment that is unreliable, thus the rating. 
  

(xg)​Maximilian’s earthen grasp​:​When this was originally published in the Elemental Evil Players 
Companion, I thought it was OK, but time to reflect has not been kind to this spell. It requires an 
action to move and an action to attack, not a good combination. When it can attack, creatures get a 
Strength save to avoid the damage and restrained condition (instead of an attack roll), which is not 
good at all. I have upgraded it to orange, as while I think Web does the same job but better, this can 
lock down a target without interfering with your allies’ movement. 

  

(xg)​Pyrotechnics:​ ​I liked this spell a lot, specifically combined with Flaming Sphere, but the change 
of the fire requirement to “non-magical” makes that combination invalid. Now you need to have 
non-magical flame right where you need it when you cast that spell. Not saying there are no ways to 
accomplish that. Maybe your familiar can take something where you need it. Maybe there is some 
other way, but lots of those ways are going to take an action or significant pre planning which 
severely limit the value of this spell. The big draw here is these effects do not require concentration. 

  

(xg)​Skywrite: T
​ he main use of this is going to be the ability to communicate at range with an ally. I 
have downgraded it to red, because while I may scribe it into by spellbook as with every ritual, I 
would never choose it as one of my 2 spells I learn per level. Ritual. 

  

Level 3 
Abjuration 

Counterspell​: Back to my friend Jeff, who was convinced that this spell ruined the game because he 
was butt-hurt that the enemy wizard kept counterspelling his fireballs (hee hee). I don’t think this 
spell ruins the game, but I do think it’s a must for any Wizard. I honestly can’t think of any spell 
that’s more of an auto-pick in the game. Even better for Abjurers, who at 10​th​ level get to add their 
proficiency bonus to the ability check to counterspell higher level spells, as well as it refreshing 
Arcane Ward. 

  

Dispel Magic: ​There is some level of redundancy between this spell and counterspell. Naturally the 
advantage here is ending a spell that is already cast, while the advantage of counterspell is using a 
reaction to end a spell while it is being cast. So instead of stopping a Fireball, you could instead 
remove buffs from enemies or debuffs from allies. It also has the advantage that it can remove 
multiple spells from one creature or object. As above, Abjurers are better at dispelling. 

  
Glyph of Warding:​ ​The intended use of creating a trap seems very circumstantial, and I would not 
use it in this way. It is possible to instead load it with a buff spell which we then do not have to 
concentrate on. At very high levels we could abuse this by keeping a bunch of these in a demiplane, 
which we can walk into and immediately benefit from. I 

  

Magic Circle: ​100 gp cost for some admittedly nice protection effects from a VERY limited selection 
of enemies. And a ten minute casting time, and the effects are fixed to where you cast it. Just not 
worth it. 

  

Nondetection: ​Once again a material component cost (what is it with you Abjuration?), but the 
effect is nice. Make your invisibility undetectable. Generally I’ve found most DM’s who want an 
enemy to spy on you find a way around any scry protections you try, but making see invisibility into 
a useless spell is pretty nice. 

  

Protection from Energy:​ C​ oncentration spell for resistance (not immunity) is a bit of a letdown. 
You used to be able to use this spell to avoid damage, now you use it to reduce damage (at which 
point you will be making a concentration save by the way). 

  

Remove Curse:​ Hmmm…can’t Clerics cast this should you need it? It’s just not worth spell selection 
or preparation considering how often it will be needed. Worth a page in your spellbook to use 
during off-times I guess. 

  

Conjuration 

Sleet Storm:​ So fog cloud + grease over a pretty good radius, the concentration is a down side, but 
this is a good way to divide a well organized enemy. As they stumble out one at a time the big 
stupid fighter can cut them down. 

  

Stinking Cloud:​ The great part of this spell in previous editions is that creatures making their way 
out of the cloud were still nauseated for a few rounds. Not anymore, and that seriously impedes the 
value of the spell. The use of this is now very similar to sleet storm, but I think the former is the 
better spell due to the improved radius, better range, lack of vulnerability to wind, and the focus on 
Dex over Con saves. 

  
(xg)​Summon Lesser Demon: ​This is the Wizard answer to Conjure Animals. Pretty much the same 
spell except you get demons instead (except for one tiny little detail...). Keep in mind that Demons 
are likely to have more special abilities and less straight out attack and HP then an equivalent CR 
animal. Also keep in mind that summoning in 5e involves the DM picking what you summon, not 
you. Oh, and that one tiny detail that’s different from Conjure Animals? Oh yeah, these demons are 
hostile to you and you can’t control them (they are predictable though, always attacking the nearest 
non-demon). As part of the spell, you can create a protective circle - which is only big enough for 
you, so screw all your party members I guess, here’s some demons that want to kill you. You’re 
welcome. 

  

(xg)​Thunder Step: ​One of the primary uses of Dimension Door is moving up to an ally who is getting 
beaten to a pulp, then getting them away. This spell can achieve that using a lower level slot and 
leaves a parting gift for those doing the beating. I love both those things, but I wish you could turn 
off the damage, because friendly fire could very easily be a big problem here. Also note a reduction 
in range. All things being equal, I would take dimension door any day, but all things aren’t equal, this 
is a 3rd level spell, which makes it a great choice. Don’t take this and dimension door - that’s 
redundant. 

  

(xg)​Tidal wave​:​ ​A mix of blast and control. This spell targets a 30’x10’ “line” (but not a LINE spell as it 
can be cast at range), where those within take 4d8 damage and are knocked prone. (save and are 
not knocked prone and take ½ damage). Prone is actually a pretty mild condition when caused on 
mass, since the advantage you get attacking such creatures is limited by the number of attacks you 
can scrape together before they just get up. That said, not a bad spell. 

  

Divination 

Clairvoyance:​ ​This is the spell I usually think of when I think Divination. It requires a costly focus 
(but at least it can be reused). Basically a spy spell, useful for gathering of info, but uses a pretty 
high level spell. Is knowing what is on the other side of that door worth a 3​rd​ level spell? Sometimes. 

  

Tongues:​ ​Like comprehend languages except you get two way communication. Unlike comprehend 
languages, this is not a ritual, and frankly, a 3​rd​ level slot is pretty high for something at least partially 
redundant with a 1​st​ level ritual. On the other hand, if you want to communicate with someone and 
don’t share a language, this is the best way. 

  

Enchantment 
(xg)​Catnap: T
​ his provides the benefits of a short rest to 3 of your companions in only 10 minutes. 
Now, in my experience, if you can’t rest an hour, you usually can’t rest 10 minutes either. Of course, 
you could cast Rope Trick (a second level spell) and get a short rest reliably. How did this get past 
playtest? 

  

(xg)​Enemies Abound: I​ guess this is the obvious segway between Crown of Madness and Confusion 
(and actually provides an enchantment option at 3rd level). Unfortunately, this isn’t a very good 
spell. Unlike the lower level Crown of Madness, you don’t pick the target, and unlike Confusion, it 
impacts only one target. The targeting of Int however, is the one saving grace here, as a number of 
creatures do not have a good Int save, giving this a better chance to stick. This could be better yet, if 
you and your party are hidden, and the only creatures the target can see are its allies. 

  

Evocation 

Fireball:​ You know it and you love it. I kind of love it too, especially at 5​th​ level when you first get 
access. Naturally there are diminishing returns, but 28 average damage in a large area is pretty 
darned effective at low-mid level. Save for half as always. 

  

Leomund's Tiny Hut:​ ​A ritual spell that basically provides a dome shaped wall of force for camping 
that you and your companions can move through. That’s pretty darned effective. Very nice ritual, 
and tempting to grab even with spell selection at some point. Oh, you can shoot arrows out of the 
dome, but enemies can’t fire arrows in. Also, enemies cannot enter the hut, they can’t see into the 
hut, and I don’t mean if they fail a save, I mean there is no save. Unless the enemy has some form of 
teleportation (and misty step won’t work, since you can’t see into the hut), this is a 100% effective 
spell for safe camping. Finally, there is the environmental benefit as the inside of the hut is always a 
comfortable temperature and nice and dry. Not only the best ritual in the game, one of the best 
spells for its level period. Be aware that Jeremy Crawford has clarified the spell creates a dome, not a 
hemisphere, so you can be attacked from underneath. Usually not a problem… usually. 

  

Lightning Bolt: ​The damage is the same as fireball, but you are creating a line rather than a big 
boom. The lack of range and the line effect I think make this a less attractive spell. 

  

Sending:​ The standard for long range communication. Probably this spell should be a ritual, but it’s 
not, so probably only worth it in off-time. You aren’t going into a dungeon with a Sending 
prepared… 

  
  

(xg)​Melf’s minute meteors:​One action to set up this spell (but you can absolutely do it if you have a 
chance to prepare for battle), and it requires concentration. The spell is going to give you 6 attacks 
total with mini-fireballs. You can fire up to two per round starting the turn you cast the spell. After 
the round of casting, it will use up your bonus action to fire the mini-fireballs. Each mini-fireball 
does 2d6 damage in a 5’ radius (save for half). That means that over 3 rounds (using 1 action, 2 
bonus actions and requiring concentration) you have a potential of 12d6 damage (150% of one 
fireball, although the area is significantly reduced). This would be as good as fireball if it wasn’t for 
the concentration requirement. One of the primary draws of straight damage blasts like fireball is 
that they don’t mess with concentration. If you are not a blaster wizard, I would not recommend it. 

  

(xg)​Wall of sand:​ ​A “Wall” that blocks line of sight but not movement, and it’s 3​rd​ level, and it 
requires concentration. If it weren’t for the “slowing” effect of walking through the wall, this would 
get a brown rating. Fog Cloud is the superior option for this kind of spell. Or silent image. 

  

(xg​)​Wall of water:​This spell would rate red except that you can turn it in to a moderately useful 
spell with some planning and teamwork. If someone else can fire a decent area cold spell through 
the wall, you can freeze it, turning it into an actual, if somewhat brittle wall. If you can’t set that up, 
then this is garbage. 

  

  

Illusion 

Fear:​ Illusion spell eh? Ok. A 30’ cone that creates a save or be screwed effect for all within. 
Naturally there is concentration to maintain. Targets Wisdom which is pretty good. Overall, a very 
effective mass debuffing. 

  

Hypnotic Pattern:​ A very similar use to the fear spell. Making creatures completely immobile and 
incapacitated is better than frightening them, but the ability to “shake” them out of that condition is 
a definite downside. I like this spell better than fear for a few reasons. #1: It is a ranged spell which 
gives you better placement options #2: Having the enemies stand still rather than run away is a 
tactical advantage.  

  

Major Image:​ ​So the next step in standard illusions. Now your range is very nice, and you can add 
things like sound, smell, warmth, etc. Obviously there can be some issue with redundancy with 
these spells, and I kind of wish they had a first level illusion spell that could add these effects by 
using a higher spell slot rather than needing to prepare multiple spells. Using a 6th level slot you 
can make the illusion permanent which is very nice if you are an illusionist and use Malleable 
Illusions to change it’s nature, have it follow you around and turn it into whatever you need when 
you need it without using spell slots. (Thank you ​Strill ​for the suggestion) Technically speaking you 
can’t move the illusion outside of its original range of the spell, but this is something you can a
​ rgue 
discuss with your DM. 

  

Phantom Steed:​ If this spell wasn’t a ritual, it would totally blow. In the olden days children, 
phantom steeds could fly and move at speeds that were frankly ridiculous. Now the speed is fast 
(but not ridiculous), and otherwise it’s just a horse. That said, 100 foot movement for an hour by use 
of a ritual is a no brainer. If you get this spell, cast it all the time and kiss the longstrider spell 
goodbye. 

  

Necromancy 

Animate Dead (​ Blue for Necromancers)​:​ I​ find the ENDLESS debate over whether casting this spell 
is evil so annoying I almost wish this spell didn’t exist, but it does, and it’s a good use of your action 
economy. An undead servant standing directly in front of me, opening doors that might have 
nasties on the other side, opening chests that might be filled with nasty traps, eating up enemy 
attacks, etc. Just plain useful. Tell you what, I’ll leave my alignment blank and you imagine whatever 
you like there. Satisfied? 

  

Bestow Curse:​ The effect of this spell is pretty subdued for a spell that requires concentration, 
provides a saving throw, and has a range of touch. Really not worth it. Edit: It’s been pointed out to 
me several times that you can avoid concentration on this spell by casting it with a 5th level slot. 
Since it remains a touch spell, I’m not going to recommend it for a god wizard, but it’s worth noting. 

  

Feign Death​: Pretend you are dead for an hour. Have someone else pretend they are dead for an 
hour. Impressed? Me neither. At least it’s a ritual, but keep in mind that if you are casting it as a 
ritual on you and your allies, the duration is going to be almost up by the time you finish casting. 

  

Vampiric Touch:​ I guess my motto for Wizards should be “No touchy! No touchy!” You need to 
touch the enemy to cause, get this, 3d6 damage (this is a 3​rd​ level spell by the way), and you get half 
that absolutely massive amount added to your HP in healing (so you don’t even get temporary HP if 
you are not wounded). In other words, to get use of this spell, you need to be a wounded wizard, 
walking into melee with an enemy, then pissing him off with minor damage. Think about that. 
Aren’t wizards supposed to be smart? 

  
(xg)​Life Transference: ​You are a wizard, so healing options are rare, and here’s one that heals 8d8 
damage with a 3rd level slot. However, you take half that yourself, and you are hardly a big bag of 
HP. There are a few instances where I would be tempted to keep this one available though, such as 
in a party with lousy healing options. Healing the BSF that is between you and the bad guys is also 
maybe preventing more damage than this causes. 

  

Transmutation 

Blink​: Flip a coin, heads you are invincible this round, tails, you have no defense at all. That is pretty 
much this spell in a nutshell. It requires no concentration, but unless you have preparation time, it’s 
costing an action to set up. I always like to keep randomness under my control, so I probably have a 
bias against this spell. That said, I can’t say it’s not OK, especially since you can layer it with other 
defenses. I wouldn’t use it on round 1 of combat, but if I could use it before round 1, then it’s a good 
combat preparation spell, and it can be layered with Mirror Image. 

  

Fly:​ Fly 60’ per round for 10 minutes. Concentration is the new bug in the ointment. This used to be 
an unquestionable staple, now it’s an OK option. Once in awhile, your melee big stupid fighter will 
need this from you as a buff because moron doesn’t use a bow. 

  

Gaseous Form​: I think the use of this is pretty clear, and it’s pretty circumstantial too. 

  

Haste:​ Yes, this is a pretty potent buff effect, but just to be clear, this is affecting one creature and it 
is requiring your concentration to maintain. That makes it an expensive buff too. Decent choice, but 
often overrated. Everyone seems to love this spell regardless. Just remember, you are 
concentrating on no more than one spell at a time. 

  

Slow:​ 6 creatures that used to get a reaction, action and bonus action every round now just get an 
action or bonus action. That’s pretty darned cool. Creatures with multiple attacks get only one 
instead, double cool. Spellcasters may have their spells delayed, triple cool. Here’s the downsides: It 
requires concentration. It gives a saving throw every round. Hmmm....hefty downsides. I have 
recently increased the rating for this spell, as unlike Hypnotic Pattern and Fear (similar mass debuff 
spells at this level), you don’t have to worry about friendly fire with slow. 

  

Water Breathing:​ ​Once you gain water breathing, alter self becomes an expensive disguise self 
only. I used to rate this lower, but I have found that being able to use this spell as a ritual at the 
start of the day to make all your allies have the ability to breath water for the whole day, without 
using concentration or any resources, is just helpful. I don’t always need to breathe water, but if I 
cast this, then Hakuna Matata. (It means no worries) 

  

(xg)​Erupting earth​:​It is pointed out to me fairly regularly (since this came out in Elemental Evil 
Players Companion) that the damage scaling on this spell is d12 per level, which is pretty high, 
however, I don’t think that saves this spell, let me explain: Cast as a 3rd level spell, this is bad. 3d12 
with a 3rd level spell (same level as fireball and lightning bolt) is very poor, as is the area (20’ cube). 
Now if you have higher level slots, but no higher level spells, there’s some value in using this spell for 
those slots, but for most casters, you actually have higher level spells, and you should already know 
that higher level spells tend to be a lot better than lower level spells using equivalent slots. Now that 
gap is smaller with this spell admittedly, but until that gap is nonexistent, you shouldn’t be doing 
that. 

  

(xg)​Flame arrows:​ ​If you have a very specific combination in mind, this can be OK. I mean, get a 
couple archers who shoot multiple arrows a round drawing from this spell, you could be adding 
significant amounts of damage. However, think about that first, because otherwise, you are using 
up your concentration for what might be very so-so damage buffing. 

  

(xg)​Tiny Servant S
​ o the obvious use for this spell is the “magician's apprentice” style of animating 
objects to mop the floor and such. If we are going to be more practical, this spell is certainly a 
candidate for mixing with a spell like Dragon’s Breath for combat use. With blindsight, this little guy 
can root out your invisible enemies. Seems to me with Blindsight and an 8 hour duration, using it to 
guard your campsite isn’t a bad use either. 

  

Level 4 
Abjuration 

Banishment:​ What I like about this spell is it’s not just a way to banish extradimensional creatures, 
but it’s also a way to banish that nasty baddie while you kill his minions, and then have everyone 
surround where he will return with a bunch of readied actions. A bit like maze, but with a save. The 
saving throw is Charisma, an unusual save. 

  

Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum: ​I like the idea of this spell, but struggle for a practical 
application, especially with Leomund’s tiny hut at level 3. It’s primarily the ultimate privacy room. I 
guess if you want to be VERY sure you are not being spied on. 
  

Stoneskin:​ Still costs 100gp to cast, a hefty price for a one hour spell that requires concentration. 
Damage resistance is great, but you might be better of recommending a Barbarian dip instead. 

  

Conjuration 

Conjure Minor Elementals: F ​ inally some summoning! The one minute casting time is a killer 
though, because you now have to use this before combat. The concentration is killer too. The 
obvious tactics to me are 4 dust mephitis spamming sleep and blinding breath, or an Azer with a 
flaming blade, though I’m not hugely impressed with this. 

  

Dimension Door:​ ​I’ve always loved dimension door, but I admit that Misty Step has taken a bit of the 
shine off. Taking along only one companion is a severe limitation as well. That said, the range is 
nice, and it’s always handy to be able to walk up to the hapless bard that has been grappled by the 
big baddie, touch him, and bug out. 

  

Evard's Black Tentacles:​ Y ​ ou know what I really love about this spell? Creatures stuck have to 
make a Strength or Dex ability check against your DC to break free. Notice I didn’t say Strength or 
Dex saving throw? That means no proficiency bonus. The damage is actually not bad either at 3d6 
per round to all that are stuck. The concentration is limiting, but worth it. When you ask the 
question: “What spell will you be concentrating on?” Evard’s is a good choice. 

  

Leomund's Secret Chest: A

​ re there creative uses to this spell? I see it as a very expensive hiding 
spot for your stuff. 

  

Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound:​ Give your Alarm spell bite? I’m not a big fan of this, but I wonder 
if I’m missing something. You could technically use it in combat as a bad immobile attack spell I 
suppose. 

(xg)​Watery Sphere: ​This spell can restrain a large creature, or up to 4 medium or small creatures on 
a failed Strength save. That Strength save is unfortunate. However, as a battlefield control spell, this 
is pretty nice, as you can continue ramming it into more targets each round (uses your action) 
moving around the restrained creatures with it. The fact that creatures that make their save are 
expelled to an adjacent empty square can also be useful tactically (ie shoving them off a roof). 
Overall, a good spell, though some time to reflect since it first came out in Elemental Evil has me a 
bit less impressed. 

  

(xg)​Summon greater demon: S ​ o you summon a demon from the Abyss of challenge rating 5 or 
lower, and you get to pick (which is great). You get to issue verbal commands (that requires no 
action - take that Beastmaster Ranger). Here’s a bit of an important tidbit, the demon gets a Cha 
save every round to break your control, if it does, it starts attacking all non-demons (including your 
allies, not you because you get a little protective circle), but closest first. Also if you lose control, and 
stop concentrating, the demon sticks around for 1d6 rounds, because you can’t tell it what to do. 
This ends up being significantly better than the Summon Lesser Demons spell, even for the level. A 
Barlgura is CR 5 and has a Cha save of -1 (basically a demon-gorilla), and is going to be your best 
overall option. Shadow demon is the other option, but Cha save is +4.  

  

If you have Volo’s, the Babau is a decent choice with a +1 save, and some very neat at will spells, and 
good resistances, and HP. how it is CR 4 and the Balgura is CR 5 is beyond me. Tanarukk is a CR 5 
with Cha of -1, which I had missed, is a great straight brute choice. 

  

If you want to upcast it, then using a 5​th​ level slot to summon a Vrock is a good choice. In the first 
two rounds it appears, get it to use its spores and stunning screech. After that, it is great in melee. 

  

If you learn a demon’s true name, it gets disadvantage on the save. It’s been pointed out to me that 
commanding the demon to tell you its name is actually just a fantastic thing to do right from the 
beginning. I can’t argue with logic like that. 

  

Divination 

Arcane Eye ​(Blue for Diviners)​: I​ t’s like a short range clairvoyance except you can move it. The nice 
feature here is you can use this to scout out a large location with one spell. A highly useful 
divination. Something to keep in mind while casting this kind of spell is that you might monopolize 
the game for a long period as the DM describes what you are scouting, so try and be a good player. 
Ask for suggestions as to where to go, discuss strategy; you need to get the rest of the table 
involved. 

  

Locate Creature: ​Locate a missing creature within 1000 feet. Note that you need to have seen this 
creature before, so a description isn’t going to work. You can locate a type of creature as well. This 
is a good spell for preventing dimension door escapes by enemies. 
  

Enchantment 

Confusion​: ​This isn’t a bad spell, but when we compare it against other similar spells (provide a 
radius of save or be screwed maintained by concentration) then for a Wizard this spell should be 2​nd 
level. Hypnotic Pattern is a 3​rd​ level spell, has a better effect, over a larger area, and doesn’t give a 
save every round. This is worse. 

  

(xg)​Charm Monster: ​I am embarrassed to say how long it was before I realized that Charm Monster 
wasn’t one of the spells in the PHB. I guess I didn’t miss it so much. It’s pretty much exactly what 
you would expect it to be. It’s not a combat spell (or advantage on the saving throw), but a decent 
way to avoid combat, unless it decides your allies are still its enemies. “Friendly to you” is subjective, 
and you may get greater value from this depending on your DM. There is no concentration like with 
Charm Person. 

  

Evocation 

Fire Shield: G​ ood defensive spells prevent damage, not cause damage to those that attack you. 
That said, this is a better spell than protection from energy because concentration is not required. 
For the fire/cold protection without concentration, I consider this a decent spell overall. 

  

Ice Storm: T
​ his is basically a blast, but it does less damage than fireball. A 3​rd​ level Fireball, not 
upcast. What am I missing? The difficult terrain effect is child’s play. 

  

Otiluke's Resilient Sphere​: Concentration is required, that said, this is a solid spell (actually it’s 
hollow. Har har!) The versatility is the attraction. If you are in trouble, a sphere gives you pretty 
reliable protection while you lick your wounds. If you want to use it offensively, you can trap a 
creature while you beat up his friends and then finish him off last. Pretty good overall. 

  

Wall of Fire​: It’s a classic, but I’ve never been fond of wall of fire. Put up a wall that your enemy can 
walk through for the cost of about 23 points of damage if you don’t have fire resistance. I prefer 
walls that are solid. I can’t hate on this too much though, you also get to do damage to those who 
were beside the wall when you put it up, you also can use it down a hallway to pretty nasty effect. 
It’s not a bad spell. 

  
(xg)​Storm sphere:​You create a 20’ radius storm effect, and everyone in the storm takes some pretty 
minor damage if they fail a Strength (yuck) saving throw. The sphere is difficult terrain. On each 
turn (including the first), you can make a lightning attack from the sphere for 4d6 damage to a single 
target on a hit (advantage on creatures within the sphere), the range on that is 60’. The second 
effect is probably the main draw here, a bit like call lightning for Sorcerers and Wizards. The 
advantage being that it is using a bonus action, the disadvantage being that it’s hitting one target for 
4d6 damage - about the same damage you would get from bumping them with a 4th level flaming 
sphere (also a bonus action). Not terrible, but not stellar either. To get more out of this, use some 
teamwork and find a way to restrain the creatures in the original sphere, increasing the damage 
caused. 

  

(xg)​Vitriolic sphere:​This is a lot like a fireball except the damage is spread over 2 turns. Expect 25 
damage on round 1 on average, and half that on round 2 (total 37). BTW, if you cast a fireball using 
a 4​th​ level slot, expect 32 damage all in one shot. This spell does level damage slightly better than 
fireball for higher level slots. Keep in mind, on a successful save, the creature takes no damage on 
round 2, unlike ½ damage normally given on failed blast spell saves. 

  

(xg)​Sickening Radiance:​Remember the old “glitterdust” spell? This has some similarities to that 
spell, except it’s 4th level instead of 2nd, and the anti-invisibility effect has a saving throw, and the 
saving throw is Con, and it requires concentration. That said, it does have the chance of doing some 
minor damage, and causing exhaustion (again, on that failed Con save). The Con save is the big 
problem here, on what otherwise might be a fairly decent blast/debuff. 

  

Here’s a clever use of the spell that was suggested to me: because it is a continuous effect and can 
go around corners, it can be used as a way to flush out defenders, they might make their first Con 
save, but if they stay where they are, they will need to make more each round, and multiple failures 
would start compiling some serious exhaustion and damage. 

  

Illusion 

Greater Invisibility: ​Turn invisible and fire off (non-concentration) spells for the duration from the 
protection of not being seen. Here’s a quick hint – cast BEFORE you move! Also, this is going to be 
more effective if you have some degree of stealth, because your enemy can still hear you move just 
fine. However, I think this works better as a buff on another character, unless you are a melee 
Wizard with Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade. The party rogue will thank you for the free sneak 
attack with advantage every turn, or any character with multiple attacks a round would appreciate it. 
At higher levels I don’t think this is worth concentration, but before you get into double digits it can 
be really effective. 

  
Hallucinatory Terrain: I​ f you know where you will be engaged in combat, and you have the time to 
set up, and there are terrain effects that could work for you, then you could use this. An Illusionist 
with Malleable Illusions can alter this, which makes it a little better. Very circumstantial. 

  

Phantasmal Killer:​ ​Kind of like Fear except you only affect one creature and it gets a saving throw 
every round and you get to cast a 4​th​ level spell instead of a 3rd. It does take a bit of damage 
though…EDIT: This spell has been errated and the save takes place at the end of the round. Still not 
recommended. 

  

Necromancy 

Blight: A
​ single target blast that barely does more damage than a fireball. It’s really good at killing 
vegetables though. Carrots fear the ARCHMAGE! 

  

Transmutation 

Control Water:​ Make water go up, make water go down. Make water flow right, make water flow 
left. Make water spin around. In a boat, a useful spell. In an underwater adventure, can use the 
whirlpool as battlefield control. Possibly can be used to sabotage defenses by flooding the town/ 
base of an enemy. 

  

Fabricate:​ Make stuff out of raw materials. This is an out-of-combat utility if I ever heard of one. 
Super circumstantial. 

  

Polymorph: S ​ o good. Transform an unwilling creature into any other creature (of equal or less CR – 
I think a gnat has less CR right?) for the duration of the spell. However, it’s even more attractive as a 
buff. Turn a friendly creature into a beast of CR equal to his level! Am I missing something or can 
you turn the party big stupid fighter into a creature that a Moon Druid can only dream of? Can you 
really turn the 8​th​ level fighter into​ ​THIS GUY?​ And when he turns back into a fighter, the 136 hp 
damage he took are gone? For the record,​ ​THIS GUY​ has 2 attacks at +10 each. 4d12+7 and 3d8+7. 
As time has gone, by favour has moved to the Giant Ape instead, with more hit points and ranged 
attacks. I wouldn’t tend to use this at the start of combat, instead wait to use it is when a character in 
Melee is almost down, to bring them back into the fight. Unfortunately it does not scale well, so 
while this is the best spell in the game at level 7, and it works well at level 8 and 9, consider dropping 
it at level 10 or 11. 

  
Stone Shape​: Move stone around. Useful for making tunnels or battlements. Most often used for 
getting through a wall, or closing a gap in a wall. Pretty circumstantial really. Doesn’t turn anyone 
into a T-Rex. 

  

(xg)​Elemental bane:​If you are a dedicated blaster, I think this isn’t a very good spell for a number of 
reasons. For a god wizard, this really is total crap. 

  

Level 5 
Abjuration 

Planar Binding (​ Maybe Green for Conjurers):​ ​To be able to use this, you have to keep the creature 
in one spot for an hour, so unless you come across an elemental, fey, fiend or celestial in a trap, you 
will have to use this in conjunction with other spells. If you combine this with Magic Circle to keep a 
creature trapped, and one of the summoning spells, you can use this to extend the duration. I would 
recommend combining this with Conjure Elementals but you should be aware that you will still need 
to concentrate on your original summoning spell, and you will be limited to one creature. Your DM 
may try to subvert your commands if the creature is hostile to you (is the creature hostile to you? 
DM may consider being Planar Bound as “hostile inducing”), but how far will your DM go with this 
will vary. 

  

Conjuration 

Cloudkill: ​Ugh. This is a 5​th​ level spell that does 5d8 damage on a failed Constitution save. That’s 
awful. It requires concentration. The use, as always, is an effective way to kill tons of minions, but it 
used to be pretty bad for the big baddies too, no longer. Maybe a good spell if it didn’t require 
concentration too. 

  

Conjure Elemental (​ Green for Conjurers)​:​ ​Again, a minute to cast, but this time you get a real 
elemental. All elementals are pretty strong defensively, if a little lackluster offensively. I would 
usually pick an Air Elemental (aim your spell at air), as it has great resistances, maneuverability hit 
points, but aiming at the ground/water can be useful in particular situations. If you cast this at level 
6, you can get an Invisible Stalker, which is (surprise surprise) permanently invisible, and is the best 
way to track down a creature you are looking for. In combat it is not as good as an Air Elemental, but 
it is still reasonably good. On the other hand, you could also summon a​ ​Galeb Durh, if you want the 
maximum damage for one combat and there are two boulders it can animate. This still has 
downsides, and your DM might not “choose” it, so I prefer the Air Elemental or Invisible Stalker. You 
definitely do not want to lose your concentration on this spell, so be wary if your save is low. Level 
10 Conjurers don’t need to worry about this unless knocked unconscious. 
  

Teleportation Circle:​ This spell is only useful if you know the location of a permanent teleportation 
circle near the area you wish to teleport to. That is a pretty big limitation. On the up side, this 
creates a long-distance travel option for the entire party. Pretty much utility only. Depending on 
your campaign, it may be more useful. 

  

(xg)​Far Step: I​ t’s a mini-teleport (60 feet) that uses a bonus action, but you can do it every round for 
a minute. If this didn’t require concentration, I would rate it quite high (probably green), but using 
up your concentration for an effect you can probably achieve with other spells that don’t use 
concentration isn’t good. This is reminiscent of Misty Step, though you were casting Misty Step as a 
3rd level wizard. If you keep a Dimension Door handy, I think that’s going to solve some of the 
teleportation requirements that this would provide, and many more than this one does not. 

  

(xg)​Infernal calling: S
​ o this is like summon greater demon, except you are summoning a Devil 
instead, without all that annoying predictability (which is ironic don’t you think?). You summon a CR 
6 or lower Devil that is unfriendly to you (not hostile), and the DM can have it act however your DM 
feels is appropriate (This gives me a queasy feeling just thinking about it). You have a chance to 
issue commands, but if any of those commands fail (because it made its wisdom save), it’s immune 
to your commands, and it’s going to stick around for 3d6 more minutes, and that could be bad for 
you. If you have a very nice and predictable DM, this might be the better spell, because you might 
be able to convince the devil to do what you want without issuing commands, however, I do think 
the safer bet is to go with a CR 6 demon by casting Summon Greater Demon with a higher level slot. 
Or just use Conjure Elemental and you don’t need to worry about any saves. 

  

(xg)​Steel wind strike: S​ o you attack up to 5 creatures within 30’ (the range is an issue here) and 
make an attack roll against each of them with a melee spell attack. Successful hits do 6d10 force 
damage each. This is a bit like an area damage spell that avoids friendly fire, and 6d10 at level 5 is 
an okay blast at this level as it avoids friendly fire. More for Blade Singers and Wizards who like to 
mix it up, not so much for Diviners who prefer to stay in the back. 

  

Divination 

Contact Other Plane: D ​ M’s hate these kind of spells, because how much information do you give 
the character’s without spoiling the campaign. Players often hate these spells too, because they 
seem like a cheat. (It’s too risky to solve this riddle on our own, let’s just ask a god.) Also, the God in 
question might not know the answer to your question. Add into that an intelligence save vs being 
useless, and you have a not great spell. Ritual 

  
Legend Lore:​ ​Basically a spell cheat to replace a successful history or arcana roll. Technically, 
Legend Lore should give even more information, but if you’ve been on the other side of the screen 
you know that usually the information available can be gained through the required skill check. 

  

Rary's Telepathic Bond:​ Set up telepathy between the entire party, use this spell to communicate 
with any creature with at least 2 Int (Tongues is now obsolete). This includes most of the familiar 
options, in particular the flying ones, which gives you a greater range for scouting. Finally, it can be 
cast as a ritual. Very nice. 

  

Scrying:​ ​The next level of spying after Clairvoyance, except this time you are scrying a creature 
rather than a location. There is a Wisdom saving throw, but there are various things you can do to 
make it a very difficult save listed in the spell itself. Not a spell I use often, but a divination staple. 
Circumstantial. 

  

Enchantment 

Dominate Person ​(Purple for Enchanters):​ ​I’ve never liked this spell, and I think I like it less than 
ever. Firstly, spell only works on “humanoids” which is very limiting. Second, the duration is one 
minute, third, it requires concentration, fourth, the spell provides multiple saves if the target takes 
damage, fifth, they get advantage on their save if being attacked. Better for Enchanters, but why take 
this instead of Hold Monster? 

  

Geas:​ S​ o this spell has some wording I’m not a fan of. It says the creature affected by this spell is 
“charmed” but the only persuasion the spell seems to offer for the creature to do what you ask is 
that if it doesn’t, it takes 5d10 damage. This would still be good if it wasn’t limited to once per day. 
So the way I read this is that a creature who fails the save can choose to ignore the Geas and take 
around 28 damage once per day. What this might be useful for is to charm someone for a long 
duration, and steer them towards making decisions they were inclined to do, as well as the 
advantage on charisma checks, which could be very helpful in a more political campaigns. 

  

Hold Monster (Green for Enchanters):​ Pretty much what you would expect. Unlike Hold Person, 
this spell works on any creature. It makes a Wisdom save or it’s paralyzed. It gets another Wis save 
every round and it requires concentration, which are two large limitations, but paralyzed is a 
horrible condition to have, you can inflict massive damage to a paralyzed creature. If you are a level 
10 Enchanter you can twin this spell, which makes it a solid green. 

  
Modify Memory: I​ particularly see this as useful for a group that engages in sneaky activities. 
Convince the guard that he saw someone else fleeing from the scene of the crime, or maybe 
convince him he saw nobody. On the other hand, this isn’t a terrible spell to just incapacitate one 
creature. It gets a Wisdom save or it is incapacitated for up to a minute (concentration). Note that if 
you are in combat, not so good as the save has advantage. 

  

(xp)​Synaptic Static: ​OK, so to start with, this seems a bit like a psychic fireball (with the same area 
and damage) except there are a few items that justify the higher level. Firstly, it requires an Int save 
(though note that Int 2 or lower are unaffected), second, on a failed save, creatures get a number of 
debuffs, including 1d6 penalty on attacks, ability checks, and concentration checks. Another Int save 
is provided at the end of each round to nullify the penalty, otherwise, it occurs for 1 minute. Fairly 
decent, though 1d6 penalties are hardly the end of the world, they do combine with disadvantage, 
so are seldom redundant. 

  

Evocation 

Bigby's Hand:​ For one minute of concentration, you basically get access to all the Bigby spells of 
previous editions. You can have it punch, push, grapple (and squeeze), and block. None of the 
effects are particularly game changing, but the versatility of this spell is a definite selling point. I 
most like to use this to grapple, say a dragon to stop it from flying. 

  

Cone of Cold: ​A 60 foot cone that averages 36 points of cold damage. (If you were to use a 5​th​ level 
slot for Fireball, average damage would be 35 fire damage). The cone is pretty big, though I’ve 
always found cones more difficult to place than a kaboom. I think I would rather have the fireball. 
(Of course if you come across a creature with fire immunity, do something else). Better for Evokers 
with Sculpt Spells, as they don’t have to worry about friendly fire. 

  

Wall of Force:​ I love walls. The basic strategy of the wall spell is to divide the enemy forces so that 
you can take out half, and then take out the other half. Wall of force is up to the task, being a force 
affect (that blocks ethereal creatures), immune to damage, reasonably large, and with multiple 
options for shape (I prefer the globe). The ability to choose which side of the wall anyone in the path 
of the wall is pushed to is an added bonus. Concentration is required. 

  

Wall of Stone:​ Once upon a time, Wall of stone was permanent. Now it is concentration 10 minutes 
before becoming permanent. The wall of stone is the same size as the wall of force. Unlike wall of 
force, wall of stone requires supports, it can’t be free floating, it isn’t immune to damage, and it can’t 
block ethereal. The wall being opaque may offer advantage sometimes, but be a disadvantage at 
others. There are also some more shaping options available, but overall, it’s not worth having both 
walls, and wall of force is the better spell. Wall of Stone ends up becoming more of an 
out-of-combat option utility spell, while Wall of Force is the better battlefield control. 

  

(xg)​Dawn: A ​ moveable spotlight that does really so-so damage to those within. Friendly fire can be 
a problem here, as is the issue that creatures take damage if they end their turn in the light 
(meaning, depending on your situation, there is a good chance they can move out of the effect on 
their turn.) Compare this to the 2nd level Moonbeam spell. Imagine casting that spell with a 5th 
level slot. Is this better or worse? I would argue worse. 5th level spells should be better than 2nd 
level spells cast with 5th level slots. Lots better. The only saving grace is that it does produce real 
sunlight, which can be useful, but almost never is. 

  

(xg)​Immolation:​ ​You know how fireball does 8d6 damage to a 20’ radius? Well for only 2 additional 
spell levels, you can do that damage to one target instead. In addition, you get to use up your 
concentration! Some very crappy damage follows on subsequent turns if your target fails their 
saving throw. Yes, this spell was printed in Elemental Evil, where the designers had a long time to 
consider before re-printing it in Xanathar’s without fixing it. That’s confusing to me. 

  

(xg)​Wall of Light: A​ nother wall that isn’t an actual wall. This wall of light blocks vision, sheds light, 
and can do 4d8 damage on a failed Con save. Yes, that’s 4d8 damage on a failed Con save. Yes, this 
is a 5th level spell. I rechecked. If that terrible Con save fails, a creature is blinded, and gets a Con 
save every round to see again. Oh, and this is the final kick to your junk: You can use your ACTION 
on subsequent rounds (from this effect that requires your concentration) to MAYBE do 4d8 damage 
to one target, and ​⅙​ of the wall disappears because, what did you expect from such a powerful 
attack? This is bad, though less bad than Immolation. 

  

Illusion 

Creation:​ Y
​ ou can temporarily create some form of nonliving matter. Duration can be anywhere 
from one minute to one day. Need a rope? Use a 5​th​ level wizard spell to make one temporarily! 

  

Dream: T ​ his spell is one that I find puzzling. It can be used for long distance communication, but 
with limitations that Sending doesn’t have. You can use it to prevent a good night sleep, and cause 
some minor damage. It seems pretty bad to me. 

  

Mislead:​ So basically this spell combines invisibility and the creation of an illusionary double. 
Unfortunately the invisibility isn’t greater, so casting a spell reveals yourself (though the illusionary 
double remains). The duration is pretty good at an hour, and as you would expect, concentration is 
required. One nice aspect about this spell is you can see and hear through the illusionary double, so 
this spell can double as a replacement for Arcane Eye. The combat use of this is pretty limited, but it 
can certainly be used as a defensive measure before combat (have the enemy throw everything at 
your double while you remain safely hidden). In the end, it’s still pretty circumstantial, but 
somewhat useful. 

  

Seeming:​ This is basically disguise self, but on a mass scale. I can think of a couple devious ways to 
use this spell to get the enemy fighting itself, and obviously the sneaky party could use this spell to 
allow infiltration by disguising themselves but overall I’m still not a big fan. 

  

Necromancy 

(xg)​Danse Macabre ​(Blue for Necromancers): Y ​ ou create either 5 zombies or Skeletons. This uses 
up your concentration (ouch) and lasts only one hour, but the undead get your spellcasting modifier 
as a bonus to attack and damage rolls. Now a Necromancer Wizard WILL get the advantages of 
Undead Thralls, so for them, this is Sky blue (5 skeletons shooting bows adding your Int to hit and 
Int+proficiency to damage is a pretty effective archery line). For other casters, well, there is first of all 
the need for the bodies to begin with, then keep in mind that these creatures will die really easily. 
Concentrating on this definitely is limiting, though I’ll give it this, there is a fairly decent damage 
causing potential here, also, creatures that take up spaces can provide some significant tactical 
advantages, so not bad. 

  

(xg)​Enervation: ​Wow, this is just awful. 4d8 damage on a failed save, and 4d8 damage after that IF 
you maintain concentration and use your action every round. Oh, that’s not good. We’re into 5th 
level spells here, the ability to MAYBE do 4d8 damage per round is not a good use of a 5th level slot. 
You get ½ the damage in self healing, but because the damage is lousy and unreliable, it is also lousy 
and unreliable healing.  

  

(xg)​Negative Energy Flood: ​So you target one creature for 5d12 damage on a failed CON save 
(terrible) or half on a successful save. Creatures killed by this damage (Maybe a minion?) will rise as 
a Zombie on your next round (oooh, a zombie with a 5th level spell!) Oh, the Zombie isn’t even 
under your control. 

Transmutation 

Animate Objects:​ To me, Animate Objects is the spell that replaces summoning spells from 
previous editions. It’s one action to cast, and the objects are fairly tough for spell creations. It 
requires concentration and only lasts a minute though. Tiny objects are particularly effective, so 
maybe carry a bag of iron spikes, and animate 8 of them. They fly at 30’ and can attack at +8 for 
1d4+4 damage each. That’s 52 average damage folks (assuming hits)! Every round! Larger objects 
are obviously better for battlefield control. Consider things like animating a door you don’t want the 
enemy to go through for example. This spell is fun. 

  

Passwall:​ M
​ ake a temporary hole in a wall, ceiling or floor. There is some circumstantial use for this, 
but overall, it’s way too circumstantial. There is also redundancy with Shape Stone, which is lower 
level. You are way better off preparing teleport options as they will provide greater versatility. 

  

Telekinesis: ​This spell has been reasonably toned down from previous incarnations. You get up to 
10 minutes of Telekinesis (concentration). The main use of this is to suspend an enemy in midair 
(and move him around, like over the cliff for example). The contest of Int to Strength limits the use 
of this, that said, the creature is effectively restrained until your next turn which is pretty nice. There 
are also a number of ways we can effect a strength check, say if someone uses Hex. Otherwise you 
can use this to move objects around, but you can’t throw rocks at your opponents or anything. You 
can switch targets during this spell as well, meaning you get a lot of use out of one casting. 

  

(xg)​Control Winds: ​OK, so the good points here is that this spell has an amazing range, and it covers 
an impressive area. Yep, we’re done. The other impacts of this spell (you pick one of 3) include 
things like disadvantage on ranged attacks, difficult terrain, higher jumps, reduced falling 
damage...all stuff that is not worthy of a 5th level spell. 

  

(xg)​Skill Empowerment: T ​ his is very much a utility spell, that provides expertise in one skill to the 
creature touched, in the skill of your choice. You use your concentration and it lasts one hour. 
Enhance Ability is probably a better spell, but Wizards don’t get Enhance Ability, which would have 
me rate this spell as purple if it was 2nd level, or orange if it was 3rd. It’s a 5th level spell. Wow. 

  

(xg)​Transmute rock:​ ​ I used to think this was awful but I have now bumped it up to green, as the 
fact it does not use your concentration means that you can easily combine it with other spells, like 
Animate Objects, and give all of your attacks advantage if you manage to restrain an enemy. It is also 
versatile, so we could use it on a roof to make it fall and do some damage, or cast on mud to trap 
enemies. 

  

Level 6 
Abjuration 

Globe of Invulnerability:​ ​This is the evolution of Counterspell. Now you get a 10’ globe that stops 
all spells of 5​th​ level or lower. One of the particularly attractive details of this spell is that it stops 
spells of 5​th​ level or lower EVEN IF YOU USE A HIGHER SPELL SLOT. This is really a strike against 
multiclassing spellcasters. The 10’ globe is immobile, also there is nothing preventing enemy 
spellcasters from entering the globe, so creating such prevention should be considered when using 
this spell. I have now lowered the rating to purple, as I have found that the concentration 
requirement prevents you from doing much else while you’re using this. 

  

Guards and Wards: U ​ gh. Enchant your castle, that’s really the purpose of this spell. Don’t expect to 
see much use of it in actual adventuring. 

  

Conjuration 

Arcane Gate: ​Once again, I am having trouble coming up with a clever use for a spell that reads like 
it has clever uses. Without clever uses this is just a short range teleport (500 feet), that is multi use. 
Naturally, this could be a pretty effective escape spell, but as for the super-clever uses, give me a 
hand. Maybe something like the Rogue slips through, attacks the baddie, uses cunning action to slip 
back, and you use your bonus action to rotate the rings so he can’t be followed. Not sure why the 
baddie isn’t just going to start running to your actual location though (since you must be in sight). 

  

Drawmij's Instant Summons:​ Crush a 1000gp sapphire to teleport a small object to you. This is the 
highest level ritual spell a wizard can get, and it’s pretty darned lame, even as a ritual. 

  

(xg)​ Scatter: 

You teleport 5 creatures up to 120 feet. I’m assuming that you can be one of these 5. That means 
this can be a “get away quick” option for the entire party with a one action cast. That’s a pretty 
decent insurance policy. You can also teleport enemies (wisdom save to resist), which, even if about 
½ make the save, means dividing an enemy, making them much easier to defeat. Alternatively you 
can play chess, moving your party into more advantageous positions and enemies into worse ones. 
All decent uses of even a 6th level spell. That you have all these options available is even better. 

  

  

Divination 
True Seeing: ​Gives the creature touched “truesight” for an hour (see pg 185 in your PHB). The range 
is 120’ and truesight allows you to see in normal and magical darkness, see invisible, detect illusions, 
detect shapeshifters (and see their true form), see into the ethereal plane, and automatically detect 
secret doors. An unexpected pleasant surprise is that this spell lasts for an hour without 
concentration. The material component cost is 25gp, and although I hate paying for material 
components, at this level, 25gp is really nothing. I have downgraded this to orange as I feel the 6​th 
level slot preparation is too much of an investment, unless you know you are going to need it. 

  

Enchantment 

Mass Suggestion:​ The first thing I should mention, is that unlike Suggestion, mass suggestion does 
not require concentration. This is a big selling point. The second thing I should mention is that the 
duration is a very generous 24 hours. You can suggest up to 12 creatures (who receive a Wisdom 
save naturally). This spell might have been garbage, but the no concentration factor really turns this 
spell into a great choice. 

  

Otto's Irresistible Dance (​ Green for Enchanters):​ ​So this spell reminds me a lot of Tasha’s 
Hideous Laughter, expect the latter is probably the better spell. Oh, this is also a 6​th​ level spell and 
Tasha’s is level 1. The only (and I mean only) advantage of this spell is that it’s guaranteed to work 
from the point you cast until the target’s turn (at which point they can make a saving throw). 
Experience has taught me that at this level, a number of creatures have legendary resistance. One 
turn of debuff is too big an investment for a 6th level spell, instead I recommend “no save” spells. 
For an Enchanter, who can hit two at once, this is rated green. 

  

Evocation 

Chain Lightning:​ ​10d8 damage to up to 4 opponents. Average damage 45 (save for half). For 
reference, if you use a 7​th​ level slot for fireball you can expect 42 average damage, and you can 
potentially hit more than 4 opponents, but in combat area of effect is sometimes not great, so 
having this as an alternative isn’t awful. 

  

Contingency​: There is a costly component here, but Contingency is still a good 10 day protective 
investment (one time cost as component is not consumed). The usual trigger is going to be your HP 
reaching a certain level. Then you will be automatically targeted with the previously selected spell. 
Might I recommend Dimension Door? 

  

Otiluke's Freezing Sphere: ​This is basically a 10d6 kaboom spell (35 average cold damage – save for 
half), which is pretty awful for this level. One saving grace of this spell is you can cast it beforehand 
and someone else can throw it instead up to one minute later. This gives some options for a Nova 
of your party engaging a combat with multiple kabooms at once. You could also potentially use that 
fact that it freezes water to trap underwater enemies with no save. 

  

Sunbeam: Y ​ ou create a line of light that does an average of 27 radiant damage (save for half), and 
creatures that fail the save are blinded for a round. This in itself isn’t very good, but Undead and 
Oozes have disadvantage on the save, which still isn’t very good, but you can repeat the same attack 
every round for the duration of up to 1 minute (concentration). The only real reason I would want 
this is if I needed sunlight, say for vampires or against drow. 

  

Wall of Ice:​ ​Imagine Wall of Force that trades being invulnerable and able to be free floating for 
doing some pretty tame cold damage and uses up a higher level spell slot. That’s this spell. Not 
worth it. 

  

Illusion 

Programmed Illusion:​ This is basically a permanent illusion that is triggered by the criteria you set 
beforehand. The material cost of this is 25gp. This is going to be more for setting up scenarios 
beforehand, so it will be of limited use in the typical dungeon crawl, but certainly you can come up 
with uses when involved in city adventures where creative solutions are required. It could be better 
if your DM allows you to cast it on something moveable, like a ring, so you could activate it whenever 
you want. 

  

(xg)​Mental Prison: ​So this is a single target spell, with a save (in which case it takes 5d10 damage 
anyways), which is normally a big red flag. That said, this targets INT, which is maybe our best save 
to target (and rare), furthermore, if the target fails, it is severely screwed. There is no save every 
round nonsense, and it is blind beyond its square, restrained, and effectively immobilized. Here’s 
the big downside, if your DM decides this creature is going to test this prison, it takes 10d10 damage 
and the effect ends. 10d10 damage isn’t terrible, but most creatures of the appropriate CR can take 
it. Still, that’s 15d10 altogether, which is pretty decent damage for the level. Overall, for a single 
target spell that provides a save, this is about as good as it’s going to get. 

  

Necromancy 

Circle of Death:​ ​This is a kaboom spell that does the same damage as a 3​rd​ level fireball on average. 
The damage is necrotic and the save is Constitution. It’s just awful. Wait, I forgot the 500gp material 
component. What’s worse than awful? This is the parasite that infects the feces of whatever is 
worse than awful. 
  

Create Undead:​ You can create up to 3 ghouls with this spell (or maintain control of up to 3 ghouls). 
This is kind of the obvious upgrade from Animate Dead, but I think it comes pretty late, and the 
upgrade is pretty minor. I mean, you were doing Animate Dead at 5​th​ level, you have to be 13​th​ level 
to cast this spell. Ghouls are CR 1, and don’t really have any neat abilities. 

  

Eyebite: ​For one minute of concentration, you get to attack an enemy with this spell each round. 
Choose from “sleep”, Panic” and “sicken”. All of these choices are fairly decent. There is a Wisdom 
save to avoid the effect. Overall, a pretty good spell.  

  

Magic Jar:​ Possession that lasts until dispelled. You can possess multiple creatures (one at a time) 
by use of a single casting of this spell. Create some serious havoc by casting this spell beforehand, 
and having an ally throw the gem into a room of enemies and shut and spike the door shut. Wait 
until your own body reanimates to tell them that everyone inside is dead. The cost of this spell is 
500gp, so nothing to sneeze at, but it’s pretty potent. 

  

(xg)​Soul cage: O
​ K, so this spell seems pretty ​evil​, but e​ vil ​can be c​ ool. ​That is definitely the case 
here. You cast this spell as a reaction when a humanoid within 60 feet of you dies (so there’s a bit of 
circumstance here, unless you are awful, in which case, you can make that circumstance, you cad.) 
Once the spell is cast, you get 8 hours from which to get 6 uses from the soul. No, this doesn’t 
require concentration. One of those possible uses is a small HP healing. One is questioning the soul 
(like a speak with dead), another is advantage on an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw. 
Finally, you can use it to scry anywhere where the humanoid saw before it died. This is a lot of 
options, which makes this a pretty cool spell. I like it, in the worst parts of my soul. 

  

Transmutation 

Disintegrate: ​Obviously, this spell can be used to disintegrate Walls of Force, Force cages, or a 
material wall or other barricade, but lets face it, this is usually used to disintegrate someone. The 
average damage is 75 on a failed Dex save (pretty good), however, on a successful save, the creature 
takes no damage (pretty bad). This spell is also dangerous as it can disintegrate a enemies treasure 
hoard along with the enemy. Not a fan. 

  

Flesh to Stone: T ​ his is your first real save or die spell. (Or to be more precise, save or save again 
and save again or die). The idea here is you need to maintain concentration long enough for the 
enemy to fail 3 constitution saves (and if he makes 3 constitution saves first, it doesn’t work), while 
his allies try to wreck your concentration before that happens. Note that if the enemy makes the 
first save, the spell does nothing at all, but if it fails its first save, you can potentially kill it before it 
completes the saving throw trials. 

  

Move Earth: R
​ eshape dirt, sand or clay. Remove one 6​th​ level spell slot for the day. 

  

(xg)​Tenser’s Transformation​ O
​ K, so first off, when you cast this, you will be using your 
concentration. Secondly, you can’t cast spells (what does a 11+ level wizard want of spells 
anyways?). Here are the benefits: some extra HP, advantage on attack rolls with weapons, add 2d12 
to damage on weapon attacks, proficiency with armor, shields and weapons, proficiency in Strength 
and Con saves, and you can attack twice with the attack action. Nope, nope, nope. 

  

(xg)​Create Homunculus: ​So for the cost of 1000 gp you create a Homunculus (see MM) that is 
bound to you. The 5hp should be alarming to you, but according to the spell, you can use a long rest 
as an ability to transfer your HP to the Homunculus, which reduces your HP maximum, and as a 
Wizard, it should be pretty obvious that this is not a good idea. The Homunculus basically acts as a 
2nd familiar, except it is more autonomous. Honestly, I’m not sure I would use one of my 2 spell 
choices at this level on this spell, but if you find it in another spellbook, it’s probably worth the 
1000gp to cast, if for nothing else, having an autonomous creature going around delivering cure 
potions and the like. 

  

(xg)​Investiture of Flame: ​OK, so to start with, you are concentrating on all these “investiture” spells 
with a duration of up to 10 minutes. This one starts with the particularly tame “shed light” ability. 
Then we move on to Immunity to fire (good), resistance to cold (decent), 1d10 fire damage to those 
who move within 5 feet of you (bad damage, and friendly fire applicable), and finally, you can use 
your action to create a line of fire for 4d8 damage, ½ on a successful save. You are at least 11th 
level, 4d8 damage with your action? No, I don’t want to use my action and concentration as a 11+ 
level caster to do 4d8 damage. That’s not even decent. Heck, I can do up to 3d12 with a cantrip 
without using a spell slot at all. Why do I need to cast a 6th level spell to do 4d8 damage? The only 
saving grace here is the fire immunity/cold resistance.  

  

(xg)​Investiture of Ice: W​ e move along our “investiture” series. This time we get immunity to cold 
(good) and resistance to fire (decent). Move through ice or snow at normal move (OK, so that’s 
pretty specific), 10 foot radius around you is difficult terrain (10’ difficult terrain is really nothing), 
and you can use your action to create a 15’ foot cone, for, get this, 4d6 damage and a CON save for 
half. Halved movement on a failed save (because half movement when they are already within 15’ 
of you is a big deal). Wow. Was I complaining about 4d8? 4d6, that’s 14 points, 7 on a successful 
save. Won’t the 11+ level fighter be jealous? When he pouts, “How did you manage 14 damage in 
one round?”, you can just let him know, “I used a 6th level spell, I only get one of those a day, so 
there!” 

  

(xg)​Investiture of Stone: ​Next in our “investiture” disappointment. Resistance to 

slashing/Bludgeoning/Piercing from nonmagical attacks. Really? Nonmagical? OK. Then you can 
use your action to knock prone creatures within 15’ feet on a failed save. Was I complaining about 
4d6? I am so sorry, now we are knocking prone with a 6th level spell. Only creatures very close 
mind you, because let’s not go crazy, and it uses your action and concentration. Wait, there is a final 
ability, you can move through solid earth or stone as if it was air. Hey, that’s useful! OK, you saved 
this from red. There is some circumstantial utility here. 

  

(xg)​Investiture of Wind: ​Thank goodness we are almost done our tour through the “investiture” 
garbage fest. These have not been good spells, let’s see how we finish up. Ranged weapon attacks 
get disadvantage. Yes, we can do this with a 1st level fog cloud. Flying speed of 60 feet, OK, this 
emulates a 3rd level spell, a bit better. Finally, you can use your action to create a 15’ cube of wind 
that does 2d10 damage on a failed save. Wait...what? Was I complaining about 4d6? Now we are 
talking 2d10 damage. That’s 11 damage (5 on a successful save). Did I mention you could poison 
spray for 3d12 without using a spell slot or needing concentration? Why would I do that when 2d10 
is possible! Oh my friggin’ lord. We really finished up with the worst of the worst.  

  

Level 7 
Abjuration 

Symbol:​ This essentially creates a trap. The effect of the trap has some versatility, but the expensive 
cost of this spell (1000 gp) is not negotiable. In other words, you create a 1000gp trap. BTW, the 
trap isn’t that great for a 7​th​ level slot anyways. 

  

Conjuration 

Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion:​ ​Luxurious and completely safe accommodation and nosh 
for yourself and up to 99 more people for the cost of three 5gp items (one time cost). You are high 
level now, time to rest in the style and manner to which an archmage like yourself has grown 
accustomed. Naturally, servants, appearing in the manner of your choice, dressed in attire of your 
choosing, provide foot rubs, go on all fours to act as your footrest, dance and provide 
entertainment, and manicure your nails at your command. Leomund’s tiny hut is reasonably secure, 
but this is kind of the ultimate in this line of spells, and the spell to show your companions just how 
snobby and self-important you’ve become. 
  

Plane Shift: ​Like Teleport, except now you can travel with your companions to other planes of 
existence. This may be a required spell for some campaigns, for others, of less use than teleport 
itself. You can also use this spell to send an unwilling creature to another plane with a failed save, 
which is not my favourite use for the spell, but it adds versatility. 

  

Teleport:​ ​So you can now teleport any distance with up to 8 companions to a destination of your 
choice. If there isn’t a permanent teleportation circle, or you don’t have an object from that location, 
there is a chance of mishap. Mishaps aren’t that bad, causing 3d10 damage, though you can 
theoretically have infinite mishaps on the same trip. A way to get around this is if you have a place 
you would want to getaway to, say a home base, then you can take a rock from that location, carry it 
with you, and it will guarantee safe teleportation to that spot for 6 months. I rate this as slightly 
higher than plane shift as you can teleport the whole party as long as they are within 10ft of you. 

Divination 

Enchantment 

(xg)​Power word Pain: ​You cast this spell, and one creature with 100 HP or less (good luck guessing 
that with any major enemy) is seriously disadvantaged for one round, after which, on a successful 
CON save, is back to normal. I wish there was more to say. This is an absolute waste for a 7th level 
spell. If you have some kind of divination that makes you sure when the enemy is under 100 hp, 
even then, this is merely OK, maybe even less than that. 

  

Evocation 

Delayed Blast Fireball:​ There used to be some pretty nasty tricks with this spell, but now with it 
requiring concentration, the options become limited. The base damage is equal to what a regular 
fireball would be using a 7​th​ level slot. There is one, fairly important passage in the spell description I 
consider unclear. “If at the end of your turn the bead has not yet detonated, the damage increases 
by 1d6”. Does this happen once? Or can you leave the bead for 10 rounds and have damage 
increase by 10d6? I think that’s pretty relevant. As I usually do in these cases, I’m going to assume 
the more conservative interpretation unless WOTC clarifies otherwise. 

  

Forcecage:​ First off, 1500 gp material component to cast this spell, but it’s a one time cost. This is a 
very effective spell. There is no saving throw to avoid being trapped, but you do have to make a 
saving throw if you try to teleport out. Finally, this is a non-avoidable way for you to move a 
particularly large creature a couple squares in the direction of your choice with no saving throw. 

  
Mordenkainen's Sword:​ C ​ lerics get a 2​nd​ level spell called Spiritual Weapon that works much like 
this spell except the Cleric spell doesn’t require concentration. (This spell does more damage, but 
not a whole bunch more – say about 17 points per hit instead of 10). This spell isn’t just bad, it is 
Circle of Death bad. 

  

Prismatic Spray: ​So create a 60’ cone and creatures hit by the cone have a random effect. 6 out of 
8 of those effects are 10d6 elemental damage (save for half). “Wait,” you say, “Isn’t 10d6 what you 
would expect from a 5​th​ level spell?” Yes it is. 1 out of 8 is a Flesh to stone (6​th​ level effect), and 1 out 
of 8 offers the chance for multiple effects. Overall, this is trash. I’m not a fan of Cone of Cold, but it’s 
going to trump this spell if you are looking for a 60’ cone blast. 

  

(xg)​Whirlwind: A​ mix blast/battlefield control that is decent for the level of spell. 10d6 damage is 
OK, as is the restrained condition. Moving it each round as an action to cause both effects (on failed 
saves) to those caught in the effect is also reasonable for the level. For a lower level spell, this would 
be insane, for a 7th level spell, it’s OK. 

  

(xg)​Crown of Stars: ​OK, you create 7 “motes” that orbit your head (Let’s keep those Ioun stones 
company right?), and they sit there for up to one hour (no concentration). You can use a bonus 
action to throw these at an enemy and on a hit, they take 4d12 damage. Normally, I would be telling 
you how terrible 4d12 damage is for a 7th level spell, except that this took a bonus action, and didn’t 
use up your concentration. So, use your action, then throw a mote for 4d12 damage as a bonus. 
Works for me. 

  

Illusion 

Mirage Arcane: ​ The illusion spell has a huge area of effect, and effects your sense of touch. So if 
you create a wall, it feels like a hard surface, so you couldn’t move through it. This makes it an 
effective battlefield control, though it may spark a discussion with your DM. There are also some 
limitations, specifically you cannot conceal any creature with this spell. 

  

Project Image: ​The purpose of this spell has always been to create a mobile attack drone. You 
could cast spells from the image, and it couldn’t be destroyed. Both those features are now gone, 
but it can still be used for long range communication, scouting or scrying. 

  

Simulacrum: O ​ nce again there is a 1,500 gp material component to this spell. This creates a 
duplicate of one beast or humanoid within range, but this duplicate has ½ the HP, can’t heal, can’t 
regain spells, and can’t learn. That said, it’s automatically friendly to you. This immediately starts my 
devious mind aflutter. So if you find a way to capture some super powerful entity for 12 hours, you 
can make a Simulacrum that is friendly to you and obeys your commands. Naturally, casting it on 
yourself is worth considering, or on the BSF to create a meatshield that is more obedient than the 
current BSF. The only downside is the cost, but this should be your first pick at this level. 

  

Necromancy 

Finger of Death:​ ​Save or die? Nope. Now if you don’t save, you take damage. How much damage? 
Well, the average would be 62. The save is Constitution, which isn’t great, but unlike Disintegrate, 
you at least take half on a successful save. If you want to use this as a blast, I would rate it red, the 
only thing bumping it up to orange is that if you can use this to create zombies under your control. 

  

Transmutation 

Etherealness: ​So this spell basically turns you insubstantial for the duration. You can’t affect or be 
affected by things in the material plane. You can fly around and float through walls, which is a 
strong but circumstantial utility. Concentration is not required, unfortunately the spell is self only. 

  

Reverse Gravity (​ Could be Green depending on what you DM decides happens when you 
save):​ ​This used to be auto-win vs creatures that couldn’t fly that relied on melee attacks. Now they 
get a Dex save to avoid the effect which lowers the value of this spell. Here’s the big question: If you 
make the save are you stuck (restrained) holding onto whatever you grabbed? (to continue avoiding 
the effect?) That explanation makes the most sense to me, though I would be more comfortable if 
the spell specifically said that. The DM may also rule the creature can work its way outside the area 
of effect, which would be problematic. 

  

Sequester:​ ​5000 gp material component. That’s some serious scratch to cast a spell once. This is a 
pretty circumstantial spell too. As a DM, I would definitely use this to bring someone back from a 
forgotten time. 

  

Level 8 
Abjuration 

Antimagic Field:​ This spell completely shuts down magic in a 10’ radius centred on you. The 
obvious issue here is that you are a Wizard, and shutting down your own ability to use magic is 
really, really bad. That said, there can be some use to this, especially if you are trying to shut down 
some awful magic effect or some magic practitioner more dangerous than yourself. Make sure to 
have a BSF grapple said enemy to stop them getting out of the field. Not a spell I would use lightly 
though. 

  

Mind Blank:​ S ​ o good. As a defensive buff this spell really delivers. It’s a touch spell so it can be 
used on other members of your group as well, and it has a duration of 24 hours (no concentration) 
so you are good all day. What do you get? Complete immunity to psychic damage. Complete 
immunity to the charmed condition. Complete immunity to divination. This spell plus greater 
invisibility will make you invisible from even true seeing for example. A very potent spell worthy of 
an 8​th​ level slot. On the other hand, there are days when you are never targeted with a divination 
spell, charm effect or psychic damage, and the spell did nothing for you: you wasted your only 8​th 
level slot. So I would think carefully about when to use it. 

  

Conjuration 

Demiplane: T ​ his spell has multiple uses. First off, it gives you and your party a completely safe 
place to rest, scribe spells, or whatever. To get back out, you can use Plane Shift, or be Banished, and 
cast Demiplane again from the Material Plane. Secondly, it can act as a perfect place to store all your 
junk so you can access even big stuff at need (maybe a place to keep mounts too), and the perfect 
way to transport that huge pile of treasure you can’t carry out of the dungeon. Finally, it can be used 
to create a nearly impenetrable inescapable prison. Not a bad spell at all. 

  

Incendiary Cloud:​ Right off the bat I need to complain about the wording of the last sentence of this 
spell, “The cloud moves 10 feet directly away from you in a direction that you choose at the start of 
each of your turns.” Can we discuss that “directly away from me” and “direction that you choose” are 
mutually exclusive? (Assuming that you aren’t in the centre of the cloud, which would be a very silly 
place for you to be.) The damage of this spell is pretty mild (average 45/round) but you can keep it 
up for up to one minute (concentration). If I get to move it in a direction of my choosing, that’s not 
bad. If it’s moving 10 directly away from me each round (I’m assuming directly away from the 
position I was in when I cast the spell?) then I’m not a fan. Ultimately, because of the wording, I’m 
going to err on the side of caution and say this isn’t a good spell. 

  

Maze:​ What a lovely spell. You can make any enemy disappear with no saving throw. On its turn it 
can attempt to return with a DC 20 Int check (not a saving throw, so don’t add proficiency bonus, nor 
can legendary actions give you an auto-save!). This is a very hard check, so expect a decent amount 
of time before they return (you can maintain this spell with concentration up to 10 minutes). I 
remember in a previous edition of this game playing a campaign where Maze became the trick our 
party would use in 80% of battles. In particular I remember a Great Wyrm Red Dragon we trapped 
in a Maze while we killed all its minions, then we surrounded the area it would return and readied 
actions. Then it returned and we wiped it out before it got a single action. (Editor: I used this once to 
get rid of a mother Tarrasque while we fought a baby Tarrasque. We then used Polymorph to turn 
the mother into a chicken and dropped it in the ocean.) 

  

(xg)​Mighty Fortress: ​This is a one minute cast, so it’s out of combat only (good thing, this would 
break most combats), but essentially it creates a fortress. The fortress has walls, and the walls have 
turrets at the corners, and doors placed wherever you would like. Within the walls a keep is created, 
this you can make pretty much however you want, and it’s filled with magic food and servants that 
can serve and feed a small army. The fortress remains for one week with one casting. Certainly the 
effects of this spell are very impressive, but all the uses I’m coming up with are fairly circumstantial. 
For standard party-style adventuring, it might be decent as a home-base where you take long rests 
for example, though you don’t have defenders on the walls, so it’s not secure like Mordenkainen’s 
mansion is for example, probably not even as secure as a Leomund’s hut (though certainly far more 
comfortable). Every use I think of is circumstantial. Let me know if you have ideas. 

  

Divination 

Enchantment 

Antipathy/Sympathy: T ​ he obvious downside of this spell is that it offers a saving throw (Wisdom), 
and then if the target leaves the affected area, they get another saving throw. That said, this spell 
has a lot going for it. First off, there is a 10 day duration on this spell, secondly, there doesn’t appear 
to be a limitation on layering this spell. Imagine you and your party are going to be invading a Castle 
filled with angry Cloud Giants and their Wyvern pets. It seems to me that in the days before going to 
this castle you could cast Antipathy to Cloud Giants on yourself, then Antipathy to Wyverns, and then 
cast Sympathy to Cloud Giants on the BSF then Sympathy to Wyverns. Cloud giants and Wyverns 
would be attracted to the BSF (so he can engage melee), and repelled by you (so you can avoid 
melee). 

  

Dominate Monster (​ Turquoise for E ​ nchanters)​:​ So if we are to compare this with Dominate 
Person we are first removing the limitation to humanoid which is the big draw, but we should also 
recognize that the duration is now one hour. This means a dominated creature could potentially be 
of use for several encounters. There are still a number of limitations on this spell, but it’s going to be 
of significantly greater use than Dominate Person, and probably worth the extra levels. 

  

Feeblemind:​ It used to be that creatures that were spellcasters had less chance to save against this 
spell, but those days are gone as this spell has the super-rare Int save. Creatures affected by this 
spell can’t cast spells, activate magic items, understand language, or communicate. This means if 
you cast it on a big stupid fighter you may not be able to tell if he saved or not. Casting it on uppity 
Sorcerers, Bards, Clerics and Warlocks makes the most sense. Basically a save-or-be-screwed effect. 
Unfortunately, it’s pretty circumstantial. 

  

Power Word Stun:​ A creature targeted by this spell is automatically stunned until at least the end of 
its next turn with no saving throw as long as it has no more than 150 hp. The issue here is that you 
don’t always know how many HP your enemies have. Most primary enemies at this level will have 
more than 150 hp, so how much damage do you have to do before this sticks? There is a great deal 
of uncertainty here because of that, uncertainty you would have avoided if you had cast Maze 
instead. 

  

Evocation 

Sunburst (Green for Evokers): T ​ his spell is very similar to Sunbeam except you do more damage, 
you blind the enemy for up to a minute, and you are doing a kaboom-effect (a BIG 60’ radius 
kaboom). On the other hand, Sunbeam is giving you an attack every round, while this is a one shot 
boom. For that reason, I think I like Sunbeam better. Damage is also pretty tame for a one shot 
blast with 42 average on a failed save. Green for Evokers that don’t need to worry about friendly fire. 

  

Telepathy: A ​ lthough the duration is much better on this spell, I can’t help but wonder why this spell 
is 8​th​ level and Rary’s Telepathic Bond is 5​th​. Especially with Rary’s having the significant advantage of 
being a ritual. If you have Rary’s, I wouldn’t bother with this one. I wouldn’t bother with this one 
anyways. I guess the point is that you can establish the bond with someone who is already a 
massive distance from you (maybe someone who’s gone missing?) In which case, this spell is 
probably an expensive replacement for some lower level divination. 

  

(xg)​Maddening Darkness: ​Hmmm. So this is a darkness spell with a big area that does consistent 
damage to those within. Placing this in a way that avoids friendly fire is immediately going to be a 
challenge, and this darkness doesn’t move, so unless you have some way to keep enemies inside, I 
have to think leaving the darkness is going to be an issue (though it is really big, a standard human 
without special movement options may take multiple rounds. However, at this level, most enemies 
worth their salt can move quickly or teleport. I mean, this isn’t a terrible spell, and the area covered 
is really quite huge, but for 8th level, I don’t think you will find it worth the slot. Better than 
Incendiary Cloud though. 

  

Illusion 

  
(xg)​Illusionary Dragon: ​This is a one minute concentration using spell where you create an illusion 
of a dragon (who would have imagined?). The primary use of an illusionary dragon, as you might 
imagine, is to draw the attention and attacks of your enemies. In most cases, when the enemy 
interacts with the illusion, they can figure out they’ve been had, but that’s not so easy with this one, 
and you get a few other OK effects on top. First off, there is a Wisdom save for all your enemies that 
can see the illusion (doesn’t seem to be a range, so you could theoretically frighten armies with this) 
or they gain the frightened condition for one minute. No save every round nonsense either, if they 
fail, they don’t get another save unless they can remove line of sight to the dragon. Secondly, as a 
bonus action on your turn, you can move the dragon and fire 60 feet cones for 7d6 damage. That’s 
not great damage, but it’s just a bonus action, and it adds to the realism of the illusion, so I won’t 
complain. The illusion interacts with attacks, spells and damage in a way that does not give away the 
deception easily, and creatures need to use an action and succeed on an Int check to determine the 
ruse. Overall, I like this. 

Necromancy 

Clone: F​ or 3,000 gp you can make yourself immune to death. Keep this in a Demiplane accessed 
through the Demiplane spell to keep it safe until needed. Did I say “yourself”? I meant your entire 
party. (3000 gp each). If you leave something personal with the clone along with a Teleport scroll, it 
can go directly to your body’s location to recover lost equipment. There are downsides, firstly the 
120 days the clone takes to mature, which is not bypassed by a Wish spell. Secondly, if a fighter 
drops to zero and wakes up in a Cloned body, he can no longer be revivified, so he is just out of the 
fight. With proper preparation this can be mitigated. 

  

(xg)​Abi-Dalzim’s horrid wilting​ ​This has been “improved” since first published in the Elemental Evil 
Player’s companion. Then it only did 10d8, now it’s up to 12d8. Well, that is better, but it’s still pretty 
bad. Think about this, an 8th level spell doing 12d8 damage on a failed saving throw (it targets CON 
too - not a good save to target), and this is an 8th level spell. I mean Clone, Mind Blank, Maze, these 
are all 8th level spells. Did you want a nerfed Sunburst, because that spell was so good anyway? 
This is a disgrace. 

  

Transmutation 

Control Weather​: This spell has always shared some basic factors through all the D&D incarnations. 
It’s always been a high level spell. It’s always had a long casting time. I’ve never understood the 
point in taking it. Maybe if you are facing an enemy army. How often does that happen? 

  

Level 9 
Abjuration 

Imprisonment:​ When you cast this spell, the target either makes a saving throw, or is imprisoned 
(potentially forever). The cost of casting this spell once is 500gp PER HIT DIE of the creature 
targeted. Target an 18​th​ level Wizard for example and you need to pay 9000gp to cast this spell one 
time – and it provides a saving throw to avoid the effect (but you still lose your 9000gp). 9​th​ level 
spell. More for DMs than characters. 

  

Prismatic Wall:​ The ultimate wall (or sphere). I’m glad to see that concentration is not required 
(making this the only substantial wall you can create that doesn’t). This spell remains the most 
effective and indestructible wall imaginable. You and your buddies can pass through it unharmed 
though! Disintegrate doesn’t help. Antimagic doesn’t help. Walking though this wall will set you 
back about 175 hp, and hit you with a petrification and blindness. Creatures can be struck blind just 
by being within 20’ of this thing. Its huge. You can use it defensively or offensively. This is how a 9​th 
level spell should look. (Editors note, if you were wondering, this plus Reverse Gravity is what killed 
the baby Tarrasque). 

  

(xg)​Invulnerability: ​This spell is not complicated. There is literally 10 words in the spell description. 
You are immune to all damage period (self only). It lasts 10 minutes and it uses your concentration. 
There is a 500gp cost for this spell that is consumed each time it is cast. Don’t make the mistake in 
thinking this makes you invincible though, there are a lot of ways to mess someone up without 
doing damage. You can still be frightened, petrified, paralyzed, teleported etc. That said, immunity 
to damage is nothing to sneeze at, even for a 9th level spell. 

  

Conjuration 

Gate​: You open a portal to another plane (5,000gp component - not consumed). Plane Shift of 
course can be used to travel to different planes, but this one can draw through a powerful creature 
from another plane. You just need to consider 2 things: 1) You need to know its true name. 2) You 
have no control over it when it comes through the gate. #2 is really the fly in the ointment. This can 
be used in conjunction with Planar Binding to try to control the creature, again, you need a true 
name. (No, Asmodeus is likely not his true name) 

  

Wish​: You duplicate the effect of a spell of 8​th​ level (not just Wizard spells either) or lower (but don’t 
go too much lower – this is Wish). In addition, you can avoid any material component of the spell 
being duplicated (Clone city!). You can also wish valuables into existence, heal everyone, buff 
everyone, go back in time and change a bad roll… (but this comes with the need to recover strength 
damage, and the risk of never being able to cast Wish again). This is so much better than any other 
spell in the game, but I would probably only use the other effects at the end of a campaign, or in an 
all or nothing scenario. As for casting other spells, I would recommend Simulacrum, Find Greater 
Steed, Heroes Feast as good out of combat spells, and Magic Jar, Mighty Fortress/ Temple of the 
Gods, Symbol, Glyph of Warding, and Resurrection, which you can cast in combat and use only one 
action. 

  

Divination 

Foresight:​ So what does this buff do? Well it lasts 8 hours without concentration and the target gets 
advantage on all attack rolls, ability checks, saving throws and can’t be surprised. Enemies take 
disadvantage on attack rolls. That’s a pretty sick buff. Cast it on someone with Sharpshooter or 
Great Weapon Master, and they will be able to do much more damage, and will take a lot less as 
well. 

  

Enchantment 

Power Word Kill:​ This spell has the exact same problem as Power Word Stun, except that now the 
HP limit is 100hp. I find that limitation very concerning. If the enemy has fewer than 100hp, maybe 
your best bet is just to cause 100hp of damage. I’ve given it an orange rating, because you might be 
able to use it on an enemy who would otherwise be invulnerable. 

  

(xg)​Psychic Scream:​ ​OK, so this is a blast spell, though you avoid friendly fire. 14d6 damage to up 
to 10 enemies on a failed Int save, half that on a successful one. If the save is failed, the target is 
stunned. It gets an Int save each round until it successfully saves. Here’s a downside, creatures with 
Int 2 or lower are immune, so you kind of want to find that sweet spot of dumb, but not too dumb. 
This one is all about the failed save after all. Half of 14d6 damage and no stun from a 9th level spell 
is a pretty spectacular failure. So this isn’t a good spell in a number of situations, which isn’t 
necessarily what you want for a 9th level spell. I’m also not thrilled about the save every round. On 
the up side, there is no concentration. 

  

Evocation 

Meteor Swarm​ (Blue for Evokers): ​ ​You create essentially 4 double radius fireball effects (up to a 
mile away) that each do about 140 damage on a failed save (70 on a successful one). That’s a pretty 
nasty blast. Maybe don’t prepare this if you think you’ll be adventuring in say a dungeon with little 
space, so casting this would risk significant friendly fire. Of course, Evokers need not worry. 

  

Illusion 
Weird:​ ​This seems a lot like the spell Fear, except targets take some crappy damage each round. 
Fear is a 3​rd​ level spell. Note that this spell has been errated (save now takes place at the end of the 
round), so I’ve moved it from Brown to Red. Still don’t take it. 

  

Necromancy 

Astral Projection: T ​ his spell has 2 primary purposes. The first is plane travel (which you can already 
do via Plane Shift, and making your party death-immune (which you can already do via Clone). The 
primary advantage of the latter is that in this case you will not need to recover any lost equipment if 
you “die”. There is the minute possibility with this spell that something may sever your Astral lifeline, 
but, as mentioned in the spell description, most creatures are incapable of doing that. The cost is 
1,100 gp per creature included in the spell. Dispel Magic is one way this spell can be disrupted, 
which is a substantial downside considering the spell level. The reason this is rated as low as 
orange, is because you are not often going to travel to the Astral Plane, so why cast it. 

  

Transmutation 

Shapechange: ​Assume the form of any creature of your challenge rating (your level) or lower. The 
only limits are that you need to have seen the type of creature at least once (not sure if seeing it in a 
book counts) and it can’t be undead or a construct (so basically, it needs to be alive). You can also 
use an action to change form during the spell (1 hour concentration). Naturally, there are lots of 
powerful combat forms you can take, but beware, as this is a concentration spell, and unless you 
can figure out a way to avoid taking damage, you may find your concentration disrupted in the 
middle of melee (this would be bad.) Unlike Polymorph, only you can take the new form. 

  

One primary advantage of this spell over polymorph is the retention of your own mental ability 
scores, as well as character abilities (like spellcasting, or concentration boosting feats like Warcaster). 
This provides significant advantage over a polymorphed form. In some cases, DM’s can limit what 
you can do with a Polymorphed form due to lowered Int, in these cases, Shapechange is even more 
attractive. You can also use innate spellcasting abilities, and as you can change into new creatures 
every round, that could give us a tremendous amount of spells available for free. 

  

Time Stop:​ ​Take 1d4+1 turns in a row, because taking 1 round at a time is for big stupid fighters. 
This period of time involves some restrictions, but self buffing makes a lot of sense during a time 
stop, as does creating walls or barriers, or raising illusions. I hear a lot about delayed blast fireball + 
time stop, but that’s always seemed pretty lame to me. As a 9​th​ level spell, I think it is okay, not 
amazing. 

  
True Polymorph:​ The ultimate Polymorph spell. In combat, we can turn ourselves into a dragon, we 
can turn our allies into dragons, we turn the enemy dragon into a tree, we can turn a tree into an 
allied dragon, and that’s just dragons! This spell is incredibly versatile, can be used as a buff, debuff, 
or summon, and if you concentrate on it for an hour, it is “permanent”, by which I mean it lasts until 
dispelled or the creature runs out of hit points and turns back to normal. I see a lot of people talking 
online about the ancient brass dragon, but I think the adult gold dragon is better, and available right 
at level 17. Not everyone wants to be a dragon, and without class abilities they may not necessarily 
be more effective, but it was certainly a fun experience for me. 

  

(xg)​Mass Polymorph: ​The quick reading of this spell is that it is the 4th level Polymorph spell, 
except you can polymorph 10 creatures instead of one. Like Polymorph, it uses your concentration 
and lasts up to one hour. Like polymorph, you are limited to beast forms with challenge ratings 
equal or lower than the target’s. Now let’s discuss some notable differences. First the range is twice 
that of the original (not overly noteworthy, but it should be mentioned), secondly, if the target has a 
level, you are limited to ½ that level for the beast CR (the original allows you to match the level with 
CR). Thirdly, unlike the original, your HP are not replaced, now the beast HP are treated as 
temporary HP. This has a number of consequences. First off, any temporary HP you had before are 
lost (as they do not stack), nor can you add temp HP to the beast form. You cannot heal anyone in 
beast form. On the other hand, if you are concentrating, taking temp HP damage will not require a 
concentration save. In the end, I think this is less versatile than Polymorph is when you first get it. 
Polymorph seems to work fairly equally as a buff or a debuff. Also, by this level Polymorph is not a 
good buff anymore, and Mass Polymorph has not improved the effects of Polymorph, just the 
number of targets. This one reads more as a debuff, except now you get multiple targets. Turning 
10 enemies (on a failed Wis save) into pigs is nothing to sneeze at though (“Mother, No!”). Not a bad 
spell though, a lot better than Weird.