Haven't seen Conjure Volley (5th level) mentioned in this thread yet. Which is actually a pretty terrific AoE for the following reasons:
- 40-foot radius, which is 2x that of Fireball, which equals 4x the area covered by a Fireball.
- 8d8 damage (36) is comparable to a Fireball upcast with a 5th-level slot (10d6 = 35).
- You can change the damage type when you cast it. Want piercing damage? Fire a bow. Slashing? Throw a handaxe. Bludgeoning? Fire a sling.
The only knock is that it doesn't scale, but that's not really a big deal since IMO a Fireball upcast with a slot higher than 5th is a waste, anyway.