@deganawida: I think you should just give the class a try. Like many things in 4th edition, it takes a long time to explain, but when you see it at the table, it's pretty natural and easy to grasp.
If you want a straightforward previous-edition-style fighter who walks up to the monster and smacks it repeatedly until it drops, Swordmage is not what you are looking for.
Swordmages are more like a bag of tricks: Each power that you choose has another neat little thing built in. Whether it's an MK Scorpion "get over here", teleporting around the battlefield, blasting a group of enemies, smacking everyone around you or dealing all kind of special effects. Yes, the damage is low on the [W]s, but that doesn't mean you're not useful.
In fact, it is possible to build a swordmage for damage, but these are optimized builds that only kick off at Paragon levels. One type abuses damage on teleports and charges and the feycharge feat (look for "Feycharger" and "Arcane Slasher"), the other kind of build starts with the innocent-looking Swordburst and piles feats, item effects and Paragon Path features on it until you unleash a storm that wipes the battlefield.
Hmm, that actually sounds really cool when you put it like that. So, despite not having High[W] attacks, you still get in a lot of attacks and do more things in combat than just having to attack?
If you want a straightforward previous-edition-style fighter who walks up to the monster and smacks it repeatedly until it drops, Swordmage is not what you are looking for.
Swordmages are more like a bag of tricks: Each power that you choose has another neat little thing built in. Whether it's an MK Scorpion "get over here", teleporting around the battlefield, blasting a group of enemies, smacking everyone around you or dealing all kind of special effects. Yes, the damage is low on the [W]s, but that doesn't mean you're not useful.
In fact, it is possible to build a swordmage for damage, but these are optimized builds that only kick off at Paragon levels. One type abuses damage on teleports and charges and the feycharge feat (look for "Feycharger" and "Arcane Slasher"), the other kind of build starts with the innocent-looking Swordburst and piles feats, item effects and Paragon Path features on it until you unleash a storm that wipes the battlefield.