D&D 5E booming blade plus shove as a tactic - does this work?

[auburn2]

I have a Arcane Trickster-bladesinger with booming blade cantrip. I am thinking of using a tactic where I use booming blade and then use a shove for my second attack. The Character has expertise in athletics, so she is pretty good at shoving even though she has an 8 strength.

Question I have: I know the enemy will not take thunder damage from being shoved, however I think he is still "sheathed" in booming energy after being shoved right? So he will still take damage if he moves on his turn I think.

Alternatively I could attack again and disengage, but then he could still attack another ally without taking damage if someone else was in melee range. This way I will just move him completely out of range.

 

[Dausuul]

I see no reason this wouldn't work.

 

[embee]

I have a Arcane Trickster-bladesinger with booming blade cantrip. I am thinking of using a tactic where I use booming blade and then use a shove for my second attack. The Character has expertise in athletics, so she is pretty good at shoving even though she has an 8 strength.

Question I have: I know the enemy will not take thunder damage from being shoved, however I think he is still "sheathed" in booming energy after being shoved right? So he will still take damage if he moves on his turn I think.

Alternatively I could attack again and disengage, but then he could still attack another ally without taking damage if someone else was in melee range. This way I will just move him completely out of range.

Unclear.

Crawford has gone on the record to say that standing up from prone, while it uses movement, only costs movement but is not movement that triggers the thunder damage.

 

[Dausuul]

Unclear.

Crawford has gone on the record to say that standing up from prone, while it uses movement, only costs movement but is not movement that triggers the thunder damage.

I think the idea is use the "push 5 feet" option instead of the "knock prone" option. Then the enemy must move 5 feet (and trigger the boom) to get back into melee range.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I'd allow it, myself.

 

[Mort]

I have a Arcane Trickster-bladesinger with booming blade cantrip. I am thinking of using a tactic where I use booming blade and then use a shove for my second attack. The Character has expertise in athletics, so she is pretty good at shoving even though she has an 8 strength.

Question I have: I know the enemy will not take thunder damage from being shoved, however I think he is still "sheathed" in booming energy after being shoved right? So he will still take damage if he moves on his turn I think.

Alternatively I could attack again and disengage, but then he could still attack another ally without taking damage if someone else was in melee range. This way I will just move him completely out of range.

The spell states:

If the target willingly moves 5 feet or more before then... (Source: D&D Beyond)

A shove is not willing movement so would not trigger the damage from booming blade.

Edit: (a lot): so misread a bit. Question is does the spell persist and the enemy take damage if it then moves?

This seems clear. Once sheathed, they are glowing until the start of your next turn - seems like it would work - even if they teleported away and then moved.

 

[embee]

I think the idea is use the "push 5 feet" option instead of the "knock prone" option. Then the enemy must move 5 feet (and trigger the boom) to get back into melee range.

Or wait.

They're now 5' away. So they can ready an attack and when the character comes into range on their turn attack as a reaction and not have to worry about the thunder damage.

 

[Dausuul]

Or wait.

They're now 5' away. So they can ready an attack and when the character comes into range on their turn attack as a reaction and not have to worry about the thunder damage.

In which case the PC can attack someone else, and the monster has wasted its turn.

 

[fearsomepirate]

I have a Arcane Trickster-bladesinger with booming blade cantrip. I am thinking of using a tactic where I use booming blade and then use a shove for my second attack. The Character has expertise in athletics, so she is pretty good at shoving even though she has an 8 strength.

Question I have: I know the enemy will not take thunder damage from being shoved, however I think he is still "sheathed" in booming energy after being shoved right? So he will still take damage if he moves on his turn I think.

Alternatively I could attack again and disengage, but then he could still attack another ally without taking damage if someone else was in melee range. This way I will just move him completely out of range.

If you cast booming blade, you did not take the Attack action. You took the Cast a Spell action. Thus the rule for two-weapon fighting does not apply:

When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.

This is not the same as making a melee weapon attack as part of a spell. It's a specific Action. It's the same reasoning for why you can't combine Booming Blade with Extra Attack.

 

[auburn2]

If you cast booming blade, you did not take the Attack action. You took the Cast a Spell action. Thus the rule for two-weapon fighting does not apply

This is not the same as making a melee weapon attack as part of a spell. It's a specific Action. It's the same reasoning for why you can't combine Booming Blade with Extra Attack.:

A bladesinger can cast a cantrip using the attack action. It is a feature of the bladesinger's extra attack ability:

"Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Moreover, you can cast one of your cantrips in place of one of those attacks."

Booming blade is the cantrip and the shove is the attack.