D&D 5E [5E Build] The Arcane Juggernaut

Hey, so usually I am a lurker around these forums, and I've read a lot of great stuff and gotten some fun ideas for builds from this community and others like it. Today I felt like giving back with a simple build that I have been playing around with that I've found to be a lot of fun. I've never written anything like this before, or even posted on these forums, so bear with me if this is a bit rough around the edges.

[h=4]Concept​[/h]
Originally this build started when I was trying to find out what the highest possible AC would be without using magic items. As such, the core concept of the build remains as attempting to optimize AC as much as possible within a viable build. It turns out that the core of this build is fairly small and flexible, and as such this is likely to read more like a guide than a specific build. The playstyle of this build focuses on trying to pin down enemies, forcing them to either attack you and likely miss or take opportunity attacks.

[h=4]Format[/h]Occasionally I will use fancy colored text to indicate things that are important or how good an option is
Red means don't do this. Usually to indicate something that seems good at a glance, but has some glaring problem that makes it terrible.
Purple means that it could be useful in certain situations, but that you're likely better picking another option. Only tolerate this if your higher concept falls apart without it.
Black is not a fancy color. It doesn't mean much.
Blue is good. Usually won't be build-defining, but will be used to indicate nice bonuses or good options.
Sky Blue is great! I'll use this to indicate really good options for the build. You should have a pretty good reason to not take these.
Gold is mandatory. These are options or features around which the entire build is defined or otherwise so good you'd be a fool to pass on them.

[h=4]The Core​[/h]
It probably comes as no surprise given the title of the thread that this build relies on the Bladesinger Arcane Tradition and more specifically, Bladesong. I did some searching and it comes as no surprise that I'm not the first to notice how strong the feature is for AC. Another thread based on a similar concept has already been created, though that build focuses on maximizing the survivability of a pure wizard. The reason Bladesong is so powerful is because it adds a second ability modifier to AC without "setting" your AC like other similar abilities. This allows it to stack with things like Mage Armor, or even another classes Unarmored Defense feature.

The third and final level of the core can be one of two options, and they each have their pros and cons.

Option 1) A third level of wizard. This lets us cast Blur forcing disadvantage on any enemies which rely on sight to attack. And gives us the ability to write second level spells into the spellbook. A solid option, but blurs limitations are not to be underestimated. Even lowly bats and giant spiders can ignore blur. I recommend this option only if you plan to make Wizard your main class, and even then, it may suit you to take the second option anyway.

Option 2) A level of cleric. Knowledge Domain Cleric is already a well known single-level dip for wizards. For this build it also provides a pair of great options for self-buffing survivability in Shield of Faith and Bless. Shield of Faith is not normally an especially impressive spell for clerics or paladins, but Bladesong's bonus to concentration saves makes it a more viable self-buff, cast as a bonus-action no less. Bless is of course known as THE combat buff, and for the Arcane juggernaut it can be used as an alternative against more save-heavy opponents or if nobody else has bless. The downside is the 13 WIS requirement, which is hard on an already somewhat MAD build. Potentially worth the investment.

Option 3) Both. Depending on what you want your main class to be, you could always do both. Cleric 1/Wizard 3 is a fine core, and still light enough to get all the ASIs necessary you max your AC by level 20 no matter what your main class is. You'll be a little bit slower to catch up, but it does give you a lot of early versatility on which self buffs to use depending on the situation.

[h=4]Attributes[/h]

• Strength: 8 - By necessity, this is a dex-based build. We have no use for Strength.
• Dexterity: 16 - Our main attack stat and our primary source of hard AC. Max this.
• Constitution: 12-14 - HP is good, con saves are good, but unfortunately there is little room in the build to invest heavily in CON. Get it as high as you can afford.
• Intelligence: 16 - Another major source of AC, we'll want to max this after Dex.
• Wisdom: 10-13 - We don't really want to dump this, because perception wisdom saves are good. But only go higher than 10 if you need to make the requirements for Cleric.
• Charisma: 8-13 - If you're not going Cleric, you have enough extra points for it without dumping Wisdom, and you want to take a Charisma-based class, go to 13. Otherwise, dump.

[h=4]Race Options​[/h]
Due to the highly MAD nature of the build, and the requirement to get 16 in both Dex and Int, there aren't many options here, even fewer depending on the DM, so I'll start with the most obvious.

High Elf: This race (or Half-Elf) is mandatory if your DM is picky about the Bladesinger Lore and chooses to enforce the elf-only restriction. With the Int requirements only the High Elf sub-race qualifies. The biggest benefits here are the Fey Ancestry which helps make up for low Wisdom and Darkvision. The extra cantrip is nice, but mostly unnecessary. If your DM lets you pick the Eladrin variant you trade the cantrip and extra language for Misty Step once per short rest, which is probably better. Weapon Proficiency is mostly made obsolete by Bladesinger, but Longbow can be nice if your class doesn't start with it.

Half Elf: The only other option for DMs enforcing the restriction. Not a bad choice at all, offering many of the same benefits as Elf. Fantastic attribute bonuses (too bad it's Charisma and not Wisdom). As well as Extra Skills which are always welcome. One of only two options that can main-class Paladin but probably the worse option of the two. If playing a Variant, I recommend either Weapon Training (if your starting class is not proficient with Longbow) or the extra Cantrip. The extra walk speed could also be good (45' movement is no joke).

Human (Variant): There are a lot of feats which can benefit this build significantly, which I will cover further down. As with almost any build, variant human is a viable option.

Human: This may seem like an odd one to mention, since regular humans are legendary in their lameness. However, it's the only viable option if you want to main-class Paladin. I don't know if that is worth it. But there it is.

Forest Gnome: It's got the stats and not much else. Minor Illusion is alright, but doesn't do a lot for the build. Gnome Cunning is as good as Fey Ancestry most of the time, and sometimes even better. Darkvision is always appreciated.

Deep Gnome: Mostly the same as forest gnome, though they trade Minor Illusion for Super Darkvision. Stone Camouflage is better if you main Rogue.

Tiefling (Feral): A pretty interesting choice, mostly vanilla, though as always Darkvision is nice. Infernal Legacy is useless without Charisma, so I recommend the Winged Variant, which gives 30' Fly speed (make sure you get Feather Fall!). Unfortunately I don't think the fly speed is affected by Bladesong.

All other races: As of writing this, no other races meet the int/dex requirements, and as such are not viable options for this build.

[h=4]Starting and Main Classes​[/h]
So far I've mentioned starting class and main class several times. Since the core of this build is so small, it is very flexible in terms of what kind of character you want to build around it. I'm not going to go in-depth on every class, but I will mention each of the viable options and briefly discuss their benefits. I'll start with the core classes, then move into some recommended classes. Starting in a non-core class delays when your build gets "online" but can offer some significant benefits.

Wizard

• As a starting class: Not much to this. Wizard doesn't really give you anything for starting in it that you wouldn't get from cross-classing. If you intend to have other classes at all, it's probably better to start in them instead. Of course, if you do start wizard, you'll get your Bladesong that much faster.
• As a main class: As mentioned in Lillika's Bladesinger thread being a full caster with massive AC can be a real headache for bloodthirsty DMs. Unfortunately, burning your concentration on Blur, Bless, or Shield of Faith somewhat limits your utility as a caster, you could always sacrifice your defense for more flexible spellcasting, but at that point you're pretty much just a regular wizard. Wizard also ends up with pretty low HP, though you can make up for that somewhat with the Song of Defense feature from Bladesinger. It's not a bad option, but I think that there are other classes that suit the build better.

Cleric

• As a starting class: This is a pretty good one to start in. Medium armor and shields can tide you over until your Bladesinger features kick in. Combined with Shield of Faith, you can reasonably expect 20 AC at level 1. Wisdom save proficiency is not bad either. Weaponry is a bit awkward. You'll pretty much be stuck with daggers unless you got Shortsword proficiency from a racial trait.
• As a main class: Not much here, unfortunately. We can't really afford to invest heavily in Wisdom, and as a caster the Cleric is fairly light on features. You just sort of end up being a bad cleric that never dies.

Fighter

• As a starting class: This is a fantastic class to start in. Like cleric the armor and shield proficiency can keep your defenses competitive until your core classes kick in. Proficiency with every weapon means not having to fret over carrying around a useless Rapier for a few levels, you can start with it and use it right away. Con saves are the best, especially for a class that relies on concentration buffs. Fighting Style and Second wind at level 1 are fantastic. And on top of it all, the best starting HP (we're never going to be barbarian with this build).
• As a main class: Supporting the Fighter start even further is the fact that is is also a spectacular main class. Great features in Action Surge, Extra Attacks, and extra ASIs help manage the MADness of the class and support the build with extra feats (which no other class can afford). Eldritch Knight is an obvious match, not only for the flavor, but because the War Magic feature helps fill some DPR gaps in the mid levels. Battle Master is also a viable pick as always, but I feel the Eldritch Knight makes better use of the Intelligence we're already invested in.

Rogue

• As a starting class: A lot of skills, expertise, dexterity saves, and Rapier proficiency out of the box. Decent HP, too. A bit fragile, so you may want to stay ranged until the core build kicks in. Better if your race starts you with Longbow proficiency.
• As a main class: Rogue is another fantastic main-class option. Cunning action provides an outlet for your bonus actions and vastly improves mobility. If you can set up sneak attacks on your reactions, it will make enemies really think twice before moving away from you. Supported by the right feats, Rogue can make for a freakishly sticky tank. Arcane Trickster, like Eldritch Knight, makes good use of our Intelligence. But Swashbuckler gives this class some well-needed stickiness.

Paladin

• As a starting class: Going Paladin is not easy. It takes an already MAD build and pushes it even further. The Paladin route is so MAD that only basic humans can pull it off effectively, and I'm not entirely sure that's worth it. Starting Paladin does offer some pretty impressive benefits, though. Taking two levels of Paladin effectively replaces the Cleric level in the core of the build. In exchange, you gain fighter level starting HP, all armor and weapon proficiencies, Wisdom saves, Divine Smite, a fighting style...and that's just the first two levels.
• As a main class: For the purposes of this build, maining Paladin is just fighter-plus. Paladin gets massive burst damage potential from Divine Smite, and the Oath of Vengeance features turn you into a freakishly sticky tank that harshly punishes anything dumb enough to stand next to you. Your spellcasting feature doesn't do much for you, but you still get Bless and Shield of Faith, and you can always use the extra slots for more smites. Honestly if the investment wasn't so huge, this would be the way to do the build, no question. But going Paladin means barely maxing AC, leaving no room for extra Constitution or Charisma, and losing out on the option of ever having any feats. It's a tough pill to swallow, but it's an impressive build on paper.

These are the only classes that I can recommend at the moment. Theoretically, you could fit this core into any class, but these are the ones where it feels like it really works. I'd be very interested to see how builds with other classes work, though.

[h=4]Feats[/h]
As previously mentioned, this build can benefit greatly from a few well-placed feats. Here I'll go over a few of the best options, and how to use them in the build. Choose carefully, many base classes have no room for feats, and even the Variant Human Fighter only gets a maximum of three (if it never raises constitution).

Alert - This feat is actually borderline gold for this build. One of the biggest weaknesses of the build is getting caught before we can throw up Bladesong. Straight gold if the DM gets really murdery around munchkins.

Blade Mastery - Pairs well with the Rapier (usually the main weapon of the build). +1 to hit is fantastic. The other two features kind of step on each others' toes. Crafty DMs will just move away if you parrying stance, but the advantage on opportunity attacks can be great. This feat is better for Rogues that aren't Swashbucklers.

Defensive Duelist - Looks pretty impressive on paper. You don't get hit often, and when you do you can use this to potentially force a miss. Not as flexible as lucky, but also doesn't have a limit on the number of times it can be used. Unfortunately, the shield spell is usually just a better use of your reaction.

Dual Wielder - +1 AC is +1 AC. Obviously gold if your concept has you dual wielding.

Lucky - Oh, you got a hit though? Try again. A great feat for any character, and this is no exception.

Mobile - More speed is great, and Swashbuckler in a can! Obviously useless if you're already a Swashbuckler.

Sentinel - Extra stickiness is good. And you can punish creatures for ignoring you. Practically gold if you have a hard time keeping enemy attention.

War Caster - Advantage on concentration saves, which you also have a bonus to from Bladesong. You basically never break concentration. Also allows you to use Booming Blade as an opportunity attack. Borderline gold for Dual Wielders.

[h=4]Sample Builds[/h]
[h=6]Human (Variant) Fighter[/h]
Race: Human (Variant)
Attributes

• Strength: 8
• Dexterity: 16
• Constitution: 12
• Intelligence: 16
• Wisdom: 13
• Charisma: 8

Class Progression Milestones

• Fighter 1: 11 HP. Two Weapon Fighting, Dual Wielder Feat. 16-17 AC with two Rapiers (depending on armor).
• Cleric 1: 17 HP. Take Shield of Faith and Bless. 18-19 AC with shield of faith (hard to maintain, Bless is likely better at this level)
• Wizard 2: 27 HP. Booming Blade and Firebolt Cantrips. 22 AC with Mage Armor, Shield of Faith, Bladesong, and two rapiers.
• Fighter 3: 41 HP. Eldritch Knight Archetype.
• Fighter 4: 48 HP. +2 Dex. 23 AC.
• Fighter 6: 62 HP. +2 Dex. 24 AC. Two attacks.
• Fighter 8: 76 HP. War Caster Feat. War Magic. Booming Blade looking real good, can even use it on opportunity attacks.
• Fighter 12: 104 HP. +2 Int. 25 AC. Three attacks.
• Fighter 14: 118 HP. +2 Int. 26 AC. Third Level Spells (about time).
• Fighter 16: 151 HP. +2 Con.
• Fighter 17: 159 HP. Second Action Surge. Max Level. 26 AC without magic items.

This is the only version I have personally playtested and it's great. You actually get a lot of skills so your out-of-combat utility holds up just fine. Relatively low HP in the early levels isn't much of a problem since very little manages to hit you, it gets a bit more dangerous as enemies start hitting more and getting more clever. Booming Blade opportunity attacks are fantastic, letting you force an enemy to park next to you or pay a very heavy toll. Taking Con near the end might not be necessary, but with the kind of challenges you're likely to face at 19-20, it seems like a reasonable precaution.

[h=6]Half-elf Rogue[/h]
Race: Half-elf
Attributes

• Strength: 8
• Dexterity: 16
• Constitution: 12
• Intelligence: 16
• Wisdom: 13
• Charisma: 10

Class Progression Milestones

• Rogue 1: 9 HP. Mostly for the extra skills, and as an excuse to pick up a Rapier. 15 AC is trash, though, so stay ranged for now.
• Wizard 2: 19 HP. Going wizard first because Mage Armor has more immediate benefits for the Rogue. 19 AC with Bladesong.
• Cleric 1: 25 HP. Picking up Bless and Shield of Faith. This puts our max AC up to 21. Also we've got 10 skills with 4 expertise, wow.
• Rogue 2: 31 HP. 3 HP less than the fighter at level 5. We finally get cunning action, so we can stick-and-move with the Rapier.
• Rogue 3: 37 HP. This is where the build comes alive, we take Swashbuckler and suddenly we're a 21 AC sticky rogue that can slap Booming Blade on one enemy, then tie up another.
• Rogue 4: 43 HP. +2 Dex. Bringing us up to 22 AC. Duel Wielder feat seems tempting as it still raises your AC, but it's only slightly more DPR than Booming Blade, and falls off later on. I prefer the utility of Booming Blade.
• Rogue 8: 67 HP. +2 Dex. 23 AC. This is where Booming Blade starts to destroy Dual Wielding for DPR.
• Rogue 10: 79 HP. +2 Int. 24 AC. Not much else to say about this level.
• Rogue 12: 91 HP. +2 Int. 25 AC. We've maxed our AC, now. Not quite as much as the fighter, but still a massive amount for a rogue.
• Rogue 16: 134 HP. +2 Con. Like with fighter we're going to pad our HP a bit for the last couple of levels just as a safety buffer.
• Rogue 17: 141 HP. Max Level. Master Duelist is a nice feature. It's like a slightly worse stroke of luck, which is the Rogues level 20 feature. It's almost as if we never even multi-classed.

I really like this one, as I said before Rogue is just as good for this build as fighter. Where the fighter ends up playing more like a frontline gish, this really feels more like a "tank". It forces catch-22s on enemies with booming blade, and can maneuver around the fight picking out targets to lock down. Enemies provoking opportunity attacks get punished very hard by sneak attack damage, but if they stay they get locked down by booming blade as you move on to the next poor sap. Rogue features also help a lot when it comes to dealing with casters thanks to Slippery Mind and Evasion. Even the HP problem can be mitigated by using Uncanny Dodge.

Ok, now that the sample builds are filled in, this thread is finished unless I get some good input. Thoughts? Suggestions? I'd love to get some feedback on this, since I've never posted something like this before.

This is a really interesting idea, and I look forward to seeing what you make of it. Indeed, I may start playing around with the options you've already outlined myself.

Bladesinger is not the best Wizard subclass for an Arcane gish build.

That award goes to Fighter 2/Abjuration Wizard+. The new SCAG cantrips means Bladesingers are suboptimal and, more importantly, their health sucks. Yes they have high AC, but 1 Fireball = toast.

The Abjuration shield means your Abjuration Wizard will have equivalent health of a Fighter at the start of (almost) every fight. More importantly, it also means your Simulacrum will have their shield at higher levels as well.

RulesJD said:

Bladesinger is not the best Wizard subclass for an Arcane gish build.

That award goes to Fighter 2/Abjuration Wizard+. The new SCAG cantrips means Bladesingers are suboptimal and, more importantly, their health sucks. Yes they have high AC, but 1 Fireball = toast.

The Abjuration shield means your Abjuration Wizard will have equivalent health of a Fighter at the start of (almost) every fight. More importantly, it also means your Simulacrum will have their shield at higher levels as well.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I agree that a straight Bladesinger is not great, but this build primarily focuses on abusing Bladesong on classes other than Wizard.

Darkness (+ warlock's devils sight or shadow sorcerer), haste, greater invisibility, and foresight all help you not be hit. They also help offense.

And defensive dualist seems like it should be mentioned. Not as good as the shield spell, but doesn't take slots. And you can still use a rapier + shield with Str.

Fiend warlocks get THP. Not AC, but still helps. They also get some nice rechargeable slots to power the buffs.

Darkness combo and Greater Invisibility are great, but both require significant investment. In practice, you get the defensive portion of either with just Blur. Haste is a clearly superior alternative to Shield of Faith if level 3 slots are available, it might be worth investing more into Wizard for faster access to it in some builds.

Defensive Duelist is mentioned in my original post. It's certainly an option worth considering, but I worry that it may not be worth the ASI investment.

Warlock investment could be an interesting thing to look into. I've been considering testing builds with a few of the Charisma classes to see if anything looks viable.

Thank you for the feedback, you've given me a lot to think about.

We've got a Bladesinger in our group now, and the player has been very excited about playing him (previously he was playing a Druid, but decided he wanted to try a different character so is coming in at 5th level). One of the things that had him so excited was the crazy high AC he was going to have. His rolled stats (which I find extremely questionable since 12 was his lowest in Str) put him at a 20 Dex, 18 Int, and 17 Con, so he's pretty beefy. He also has multi-classed with Sorcerer to get the Draconic Bloodline. I *think* he said he could get AC up to 25 or 27 with Shield activated. But basically, his AC can be really high.

So what happens the first fight this character is in? He bumps into an invisible clockwork Wyvern to initiate a fight. He actually rolls poorly and the Wyvern goes first and gets a hit in before all the defenses you up, he then fails a Con save and takes extra poison damage. In all, the opening attack dropped him to a handful of HP because, afterall, he is still just a Wizard/Sorc.

The short of it is...I think you're being smart about using the Bladesong to make a high AC Gish, but also you're devoting most of the class levels in this build to Fighter or Rogue so that you have the HP to stand up in the front. Its like Mike Tyson said, "all the strategy goes out the window when you get punched in the mouth".

Yeah, and even then this build does have issues with getting surprised. Alert is a good feat to mitigate that sort of problem. As someone already pointed out, if you want to main caster you're better off going with Abjuration rather than Bladesinger, the ward from that feature is pretty busted (it can even stack with temp HP).

The idea isn't to recreate the Baldur's Gate Kensai/Mage, I'm just poaching some powerful low-level spells and features that stay relevant into the late game on classes they were clearly not balanced for. So far, I've found it to a fun and effective build.

DarkTechnomancer said:

Darkness combo and Greater Invisibility are great, but both require significant investment. In practice, you get the defensive portion of either with just Blur. Haste is a clearly superior alternative to Shield of Faith if level 3 slots are available, it might be worth investing more into Wizard for faster access to it in some builds.

Click to expand...

Darkness/greater invisibility + 2 levels of rogue = attack + disadvantage + hidden. Take the bird race and they have to guess which of 15 spots your in and have disadvantage if they do guess.

Also, foresight doesn't require concentration, so it can stack with haste. Though yea, big investment.