Power Defined: Themes, Paragon Paths, and Epic Destinies.
On Themes: As themes have a large skew towards melee support, the majority of them will not appear here. As there are fewer still that really add to your control value, most will be rated on overall versatility, or what additional capability they add to your character.
Themes:
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Devil's Pawn:
(NWCS) So long as you're careful not to damage your allies, the opening power is pretty good if short ranged, auto-damage and an attack/defense penalty, and getting resistance to a very common damage type is nice. The level 5 is specific, but untyped and a large value, so not too bad.
Fey Beast Tamer:
(HoFW) An additional bag of HP for Team PC, and easy CA forever for you. Blasters will want the Owlbear's damage bonus, controllers could consider the accuracy-denying aura of the Fey Panther, the movement enabler of the Blink Dog, or just stick with boosting ally damage with the Owlbear. Do be aware that another figure on the board increases combat complexity a bit.
Firecrafter: (HoEC) Ignore the attack powers, they're horrendously inaccurate and not that brilliant even if they do hit. Other than those, the theme is decent enough. A minor action defensive buff (Don't make the secondary attack) that also gives movement, and an accuracy boost off your second wind, if you have a way to use that outside a standard action, or other reasons to use it.
Harper Agent:
(NWCS) All three of the Pin's benefit powers are fairly good, but only getting to use one in any given encounter weakens it. But they are good powers.
Illiyanbruen Guardian/Knight of Synnoria:
(NWCS/D405) Eladrin only. The theme is about getting extra oomph out of Fey Step, and it does it in two useful ways, minor action conversion and carrying an ally with you. A +2 bonus to a skill you're good at and another you can use are icing on the cake.
Knight Hospitaler:
(D399) It might seem an odd choice, but you may have the Wisdom or Charisma to make it worthwhile, and depending on your power and PP selection, you may not have much use for your IA otherwise, and you do get an accuracy boost from it. If you lack a high Wis or Cha,
ignore it.
Moteborn: (HoEC) A summon that buffs your damage and a bonus to checks using a skill you're good at? Why not. Nicely thematic, and has a fairly cool image in the book.
Noble:
(D399) If your initiative is good (and it should be), the starting power is a good way to get the slower members of Team PC out of the Box-of-Death encounters tend to start in. The other features can be useful.
Noble Adept:
(DSCS) Having an accuracy boost in your back pocket is always handy. (Illegal in
LFR like all DS themes)
Oghma's Faithful:
(NWCS) Largely RP based, although a skill reroll is always
useful. The language benefit is fairly DM and campaign dependant, but could be pretty handy. A decent thematic pick for the more faithful wizards out there.
Ordained Priest:
(D399) Pick Shining Symbol. This is of best benefit at low levels when you don't have as many encounter powers. You can probably retrain it later, but in the lower brackets, another attack penalty and some friendly damage is a decent power to have. The level 10 could come in handy occasionally.
Order Adept:
(D399) A decent blaster power (at low levels, anyway) and bonuses to a defence you want and your best skill make for a solid package.
Great for those going for Sage of Ages in Epic.
Primordial Adept:
(HoEC) Probably the best choice for
Blasters with the right elemental choices, due to the always on damage bonus at L10. Do note that despite the flavour text, nothing actually stops you mixing and matching the utility powers. Vezzuzu's Armor is a decent little defensive buff, and Solkara's Grasp can add a lot of damage if you're willing to risk that sort of range (It does compete with Shield though).
Renegade Red Wizard:
(NWCS)
Mage only. Trade your secondary school for a -2 save penalty and +2 to Bluff and Intimidate. A great trade for controllers of all stripes, especially Cha-secondary Enchanters and Illusionists. One of the few truely +control themes. The starting feature is situational, but it could help with a surprise round, especially with the Chameleon's Mask cantrip (you're pretty bad at stealth otherwise), and +1 to attack a fairly common creature type is a nice bonus.
Sarifal Feywarden:
(D405) Any fey race except Drow required. Primarily for
Blasters with a lot of close burst/blast attacks. While short ranged, the aura can add up to a lot of extra damage, especially if your allies do similar damage types to you, and +1 to one of your weaker defences, and one that gets targetted a fair bit at short range, is solid.
Scholar:
(D399) Monster knowledge checks tend to be something you're good at, so it should be fairly easy to benefit from the starting power's defense bonus, and blasters will like the damage boost. An extra trained skill and languages can come in handy, and the level 10 feature combined with the Traveller's Insight feat can make you quite the lie-detector. Plus it's extremely thematic.
Templar:
(DSCS) Thematicly more meant for an SK-pact warlock than you, but practitioners of magic gotta go somewhere on Athas. Okay if not brilliant control power that buffs an ally as your starter benefit. (Again, illegal in
LFR)
Unseelie Agent:
(HoFW) Not really a good theme,
except for one brilliant little purpose: Having a +1 Lancing Dagger or similar superior implement from level 1. I'm sure most of you out there have had it happen: You roll a 20 at level 1 or 2, but don't do any extra damage since you don't have a magic implement/weapon yet. Well, problem solved.
Retrain it later when you get actual decent magical equipment though.
Veiled Alliance:
(DSCS) Psychic damage opening power that can put enemies in some bad situations. ("But if I don't attack the invisible defender, he'll attack me...") Decent, but not exceptional. (Again, illegal in
LFR)
Wizard's Apprentice:
(D399) Pretty good, if short ranged, starting power, a freebie common item and language and a bonus to your best skill add up to a package it's hard to go wrong with in heroic, although it starts to lose steam
later when your power selection improves and the item becomes obsolete or outlevelled. Thematic for the right kind of background story though.[/sblock]
On Paragon Paths: For simplicity and because nearly all PPs use this format, I will usually refer to parts of a path with the following notations; e11 - The 11th level encounter power, f11, f16 - the 11th and 16th level features respectively, u12 - the 12th level utility, d20, the 20th level daily. Under the MC and Racial PP sections, only those worth taking, or especially relevant (due to pre-requisites or features relating to the wizard) will be mentioned.
Paragon Path Advice:
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Since there is such a wide range of paths available, I've listed here the ones I generally consider the best or strongest options for given builds.
Generally strong options, or fairly versatile and not restricted to any one build:
Arcane Wayfarer, Academy Master, Life Singer (MC Bard) Divine Oracle (MC Cleric) Spellstorm Mage, Adroit Explorer (Human racial path), Turathi Highborn (Tiefling racial path)
Illusionists: Divine Oracle (MC Cleric) Enigmatic Mage: Illusion school (Mage only) Phiarlan Phantasmist (Dragonmark of Shadow)
Enchanters: Entrancing Mystic (and look no further than that)
Nethermancer: Enigmatic Mage: Nethermancy school (Mage only) or Phiarlan Phantasmist (Dragonmark of Shadow)
Summoner: Bonded Summoner or Rimetongue Caller
Pyromancer/Fire Blaster: Master of Flame or Enigmatic Mage: Pyromancy school (Mage only)
Other blasters: Blood Mage, Malec-Keth Janissary (MC Swordmage, especially if Thunder-based), Speaker of Xaos, Lyrandar Wind-Rider (Dragonmark of Storm)
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Wizard Paragon Paths:
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Academy Master:
(D374), Any Arcane Class. Extra accuracy and damage with your at-wills, and later with your encounter powers as well. Better for blasters than controllers overall, but a solid choice either way.
Arcane Wayfarer:
(AP) Adds some extra control, but the real boon from this path is the f16 Wayfarer's Step. Since it's specificly listed as a movement mode, it also benefits from any speed increasers you may have. A great way to get around without provoking OAs.
Battle Weaver:
(HoS), Any Arcane Class, 2 or more illusion at-will or encounter powers required. The best part is the save penalty on illusion powers. Adding slow to your at-wills is decent, but you'll be using them less at this level. The AP feature is fairly weak, and the u12 and d20, while tacticly rewarding, are very fiddly and require a fair bit of book-keeping. Decent and flavourful, but nothing exceptional.
Battle Mage:
(PHB) Average features and powers hold back a path with a decent AP feature and u12. The OAs are decent, but innacurate, and the damage doesn't scale into Epic, Battle Edge is okay, Forceful Retort has terrible range and Closing Spell is worthless unless used last in the day. Subpar overall.
Blood Mage:
(PHB) Famed for some amazingly overpowered combos pre-errata, but still decent afterwards. The AP feature, u12, and d20 are great, the other features situational but useful, and Blood Pulse can still cause a fair amount of damage or make an enemy consider its options.
Bonded Summoner:
(AP) Summoners only. The AP feature is very handy for action economy, especially later when it's full well possible to summon multiple creatures at once. The f11 might come in handy occasionally (and can be triggered at-will as a minor action with the Mage Hand cantrip), and the f16 and u12 do wonders for your summons' durability. The e11 is a better Hypnoptic Pattern, since it damages and lets you slide rather than just pulling.
Draconic Antithesis: (D369) Most of the anti-dragon paths from this article are fairly specific, but this one's usable, if not spectacular. The AP feature's pretty terrible, even in a dragon fight (The extra action will usually be of more benefit), but the f11 will save you a lot of damage over your career, and the f16 will come in handy often enough. The e11 and d20 take a bit of timing and foreknowledge to really use to full potential, but are very effective. The u12 will ruin certain encounters. You can do better, but it's solid and servicable.
Enigmatic Mage:
(HoFL) Mage only. This path's features vary by your chosen Master school benefit, with only the f11 and f16 being constant, in two useful, if slightly restrictive, powers to rearrange your spellbook on the fly. Broken down by school as follows:
Enchantment:
[sblock]The AP feature is situationally useful, the e11 is pretty good, but the u12 and d20 are pretty bad, the latter being let down by the fragility and sustain standard of its effect. Overall it's solid, but Enchanters have a few much,
much stronger options.[/sblock]
Evocation:
[sblock]The damage boosts of the AP feature and the u12 are the drawcards, but don't really make up for an awful e11 and d20. The former is Magic Missile: Fire, and the latter does pretty low damage for a blaster-y daily of its level, and the sustain line is an unfriendly joke.[/sblock]
Illusion:
[sblock]This one's a fairly good options for illusionists, although not quite their top-tier pick. The AP feature's decent, although you probably won't have a great Wis mod, the e11 and d20 let you pick powers outside your school and still benefit from your features, and the u12's a nice leader-y durability power (although again, there's a skill power that does this per-encounter). If you like the versatility of your spellbook, and benefit from it a lot, consider this a
great option, especially with the path's native powers.[/sblock]
Necromancy:
[sblock]This one's pretty bad. The AP feature has awful range and is keyed to a stat you don't need very high, the e11 is decent, but unfriendly, and can break formations, the u12 belongs on a Divine class, and isn't that great there either, and the d20... they're
minions. Do I need to say more?[/sblock]
Nethermancy:
[sblock]The AP feature and e11 require a bit of tactics to use really effectively, but can be decent. The u12 has possibilites, but remember, you can't hurt allies if they don't want you to. The daily's one of the few truely good Wall powers in the game, and is small enough (and with a sufficiently powerful secondary attack) to be worth the complexity. Overall solid,
better once you get the daily.[/sblock]
Pyromancy:
[sblock]A decent option with a series of damage boosts. Try and save the AP feature for a high dice power, especially if you get extra dice in somehow. The u12's another boost, but don't let it encourage you into frying Team PC, especially since you ignore fire resist. The d20's one of the most damaging powers in the wizard list and great fuel for the AP feature, but try not to blow yourself up.[/sblock]
Familiar Keeper:
(D374)
Any Arcane Class, Familiar. The dominating d20 is the only good thing about this path. The other powers and features are mediocre at best, and require your familiar to spend the majority of its time active, which usually isn't a good idea.
Favored Sha'ir:
(HoEC) Sha'ir only. Wow, 4 pages for one PP. That's gotta be a record. The AP feature is decent, the 11 feature is an okay healing power, the e11 is decent, but triggering the secondary benefits off your resistance feature makes them unreliable. The u12 is awful. The f16 is actually pretty good, especially the Efreetkin and Djinnling effects. None of the summons for the d20 are particularly impressive. A very mixed bag overall. Pity it requires you to be a Sha'ir.
Hermetic Saboteur:
(AP) I like this path conceptually, but it's not that great. Two CA features is a bit redundant, and there are better ways to get it, being able to reposition blasts is good, but it's only 1/enc and the e11 and u12 are pretty situational and restrictive. The d20's powerful, but unlikely to be triggered more than once or twice.
Legendary Witch:
(HoFW) Witch only. Firstly, it requires you to be a Witch. And even if you are, for whatever reason, it's a bad path. The f11 has terrible range, although blind immunity is decent. Both AP features are minor and forgettable. Both e11s are mediocre at best. Both u12s are actually pretty good, but don't make up for the rest of the path. The f16 is encounter flight, which is decent, although you'll need those minors for other things as well. The d20s are truely awful. "The only attacks you can make in this form are melee basic attacks" -which you're bad at, and the path does not correct this fact - "and the secondary power, which you can only use once." - and isn't very good. - Avoid this path like you should be avoiding the build it requires.
Lyrandar Wind-Rider:
(EPG) Mark of Storm required. Lightning and/or Thunder based
Blasters want the f11. The AP feature's useful enough, and considering Feather Fall is normally daily, the f16's not too bad. The u12's pretty much Fly 4 levels earlier. It's a pity the other powers don't natively benefit from the f11, but there are ways around that. (Like all dragonmarked paths, illegal in
LFR)
Master of Flame:
(D388) Any Arcane Class. Not great, unless you're a
Pyromancer. The AP feature's a bit average, but the f11 and f16 are great, especially since the 16 can Enlarge your dailies, and stacks with that feat for the powers it does work on. The u12's another damage boost, and the e11 and d20 are fairly powerful, if unfriendly.
Master Preserver:
(DSCS) Any Arcane Class. Kind of Dark Sun only, due to the Arcane Defiling reference. That aside, it's a decent path with a leader-y outlook. The AP feature's good, the f16's great for party surge efficiency, and accuracy boosts are always welcome. The e11's not bad, although is really best used when someone needs a heal. The u12 is a very good use of your otherwise oft-wasted IA and the d20 is amazing. A good option, especially if you want a bit of extra healing in the party.
Phantasmagoric Scoundrel:
(D386) Training in Arcana and one of Bluff or Thievery required.
A good choice for a Wizard looking for out-of-combat utility or RP flavour with deceptive rituals and arcana skill substitution as features. A pair of decent powers and an additional use of an illusion power round out the path, and make up for the slightly subpar AP feature. (Can't have everything)
Phiarlan Phantasmist:
(EPG) Mark of Shadow required. Not technically a wizard path, and not legal in all settings and campaigns due to the Dragonmark requirement (
LFR players take note), but a phenominally powerful option for an Illusionist. A save penalty that applies beyond the first, extra accuracy, a handy little AP feature, good e11 and a great d20 that summons a very mobile psychic damaging beasty all add up to a great package. The u12 seems a bit odd, but remember mark penalties will stack with any others you throw out. Hard not to like this one.
Planeshifter: (MoTP) Pretty solid and nicely flavourful path overall. The AP feature's great, the f16 is situational, but amazing for those situations, and the e11's effect is normally reserved for dailies. The u12 and f11 are more RP-benefits than anything else, but can make themselves useful. The d20's damage is hard to resist, but not spectacular, and the effect is weakened by bad timing on its expiry.
Rimetongue Caller:
(AP) Primordial Language required, Summoners only. More offensive leaning than Bonded Summoner. The AP feature's pretty average, but the f11 and f16 are great buffs to your summons (Including utility summons, which can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the summon in question), the u12 is very vicious with later multi-attacking summons (Like the Marilith) and the d20's solid. A good choice.
Shadow Shaper:
(HoS) 1 or more Illusion powers required. The e11 and u12 are the best parts of this path. The e11's damage is piddly, but dazing as an effect is pretty strong. The f11 can be an accuracy boost against certain enemies, but is usually not worth the trade. At this level, you're unlikely to benefit from the AP feature, and the f16 can be duplicated in a feat. The d20's a decent friendly dazer, but a bit average in power for its level. Illusionists can do better than this.
Shadowthief:
(HoS) Any Arcane Class. The shadows are additional book-keeping with triggers meant for a striker, not a controller, and the powers that use them are pretty bad. Avoid.
Silverstar:
(FRPG) Any Arcane or Divine class, must worship Selune. Pretty bad path overall for you, except for getting an encounter stun at level 11. If that appeals, or your campaign is actually about hunting werewolves, consider it, but otherwise, stay away.
Simbarch of Aglarond:
(FRPG) This path is a bit confused in its focus. Very +Leader, until you get to the hyper-accurate damage booster that is the e11 and the fairly good blaster self-save granting d20. Possibly worth considering if you want to be self-reliant (EG: LFR players with unpredictable or unreliable group compositions.) I have seen the e11 put to very brutal effect with the right damage powers.
Sivis Truenamer:
(EPG) Mark of Scribing, Supernal Language required. Like the Phiarlan path, illegal in
LFR. The features are all fairly useful to you, except the f16 (And obviously less so to a
Mage who lacks implement mastery). The f11 does wonders for your durability. All 3 powers are fairly good, although do note that the e11's auto-hit line means the enemy can't crit itself.
Speaker of Xaos:
(HoEC)
Training in Arcana Required. Pretty potent overall, especially for an elemental-themed
Blaster. Add targets to your attacks on AP, brutal 1 for your spells, and extra damage free actions from the e11 and d20. The f11 and u12 require elemental enemies, but there's enough of those and the effects are very good, so that doesn't drag the path down.
Spellguard Wizard: (FRPG) The powers are better than the features, although increased durability isn't bad. The AP feature's awful though. The f11 is interesting, if a bit odd. The e11's a decent enough use of your IA, and the u12 and d20 lock down two of the more annoying things monsters can do. Pity the u11's zone can't be moved. Solid, but not exceptional. Feels a bit more like a Bladesinger's path than your's.
Spellstorm Mage:
(PHB) A fairly good blaster-y path, and not bad for others due to the power recycling feature. Ignore the wisdom requirements, as you still add 1/2 your level to ability checks, and the f16 will still pop minions without it. The d20's great for clumping enemies for subsequent powers (likely boosted by the AP feature), but the u12 and e11 are fairly average (A 1 square high wall can be jumped or flown over without any real effort).
Tome Adept:
(D380) Arcanist only, Tome implement mastery required. The AP feature and f16 are good, but don't compensate much for the weakness of the other features and powers. A bit better if you use rituals heavily, but overall somewhat subpar.
Unseen Mage:
(AP) This power would be better, except most of your options for turning invisible, including this path's powers, really just aren't that good. A minor damage boost from the f16 does not make up for this fact.
War Wizard of Cormyr:
(FRPG) Affiliated with Cormyr, whatever that means to you. The real draw here is the ability to convert a power to a basic attack (Actually of more use to Half Elven Knights than you, amusingly). Still very worthwhile if you regularly play with a Warlord or other BA-granter. Fortunately the rest of the path is no slouch. The AP feature should really be redundant to you by now, but the f16's extra damage is always welcome and easy to trigger, and the e11 and d20 are both fairly large AoEs, although the latter has a forgettable effect. The u12's a wall, but could be handy if you're the only ranged party member.
Weaver of Chance:
(AP) A truely bad path. Real gamblers of this style stack the odds in their favour. This path doesn't. It doesn't help that 4 of the 6 options on the d20 aren't very good. If you really enjoy randomness of this style, play a Chaos Sorcerer instead (A lot more support for it, and has a few ways to stack the odds).
Wizard of the Spiral Tower:
(PHB) Post-errata, this path has its uses, if not brilliance. The main draw is the ability to use a longsword as a weapliment and still get your implement mastery benefits. The AP feature is usually going to be worse than actually taking the extra action, and the f16 won't do much damage, but it's a nice little bonus. Melee range powers aren't that useful to you overall, but are good for rendering enemies impotent while you move somewhere better. The u12's great for telling monsters with dominates or similar where they can shove it. Decent, but there are better options.[/sblock]
Multiclass Paragon Paths:
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Animus Predator:
(D385) MC Shaman. You'll need Wisdom to use this path's powers, and it's not really worth it without them. Good for getting through insubstantial, and
better if your party likes elemental damage types (Especially with say, an Elementalist or Desert Wind Monk who don't pierce resist natively). More a party-op or flavour choice (Reflavour that spirit companion to a summoned elemental, perhaps?), but it's decent enough at it's job.
Divine Oracle:
(PHB) MC Cleric. That podcast was right, this path is well worth MCing for. A great AP feature, never get surprised again, roll twice for initiative, and more importantly, will attacks for hyper-accuracy (That miss penalty won't come up often, and Superior Will will counter it nicely). The e11 is an amazing power, and the u12 has its uses (although your strikers might complain about the can't crit feature, and don't use it when CDGs are an option). The d20 is pretty mediocre, but the rest of the path more than makes up for it.
Entrancing Mystic:
(AP) MC Warlock. A truely amazing path for Enchanters. Massive save penalties that your allies can benefit from too, combined with extra accuracy for your charm powers and recycling of the ones that miss. A lot of your charm encounter powers are effect powers, but those that roll to hit often have a miss effect anyway, which makes this feature great. The AP feature is mediocre, as is the e11, and the u12 is okay but has timing issues. The d20 does something hit or miss, and if you've gone down this route, you may as well have the attack-calibre Charisma needed to use it.
Flame of Hope:
(PHB2) MC Invoker. A reasonable +leader path, with a great AP feature for insuring your nova round lands, and helping out Team PC. Not really that great for a pure wizard, since it doesn't add much in the way of control beyond 1 turn of accuracy, but
pretty good for a leader|wizard hybrid, or if you do want +leader for some reason. Divine Oracle or Entrancing Mystic do always-on personal accuracy and other benefits better than this path overall. The f11's reasonable, but the f16's pretty bad and the u12's only really going to work on 1 attack per day, weakening it quite a bit.
Hammer of Vengeance:
(PHB2) MC Invoker. A fairly good path for controllers with Wisdom as their secondary. The big draw is the f11, a save penalty you and your allies benefit from. The AP feature is free damage, but not much of it, and the f16 would be a complete waste except for the path giving you two Divine powers. The powers are decent, but obviously require an attack-calibre Wisdom (Most likely from OoI users). If you haven't made that investment, perhaps pass this one up.
Life Singer:
(AP) MC Bard. A lot like Divine Oracle, trading somewhat weaker features for better powers. The f11 and f16 are great, and you'll want an attack-calibre Charisma for the e11 and brutal d20. The u12 is situational, but handy. The AP feature's a waste though. Overall, DO is better, but this is a decent option.
Malec-Keth Janissary:
(MoTP) MC Swordmage. Only really meant for
Blasters. The only reason you're looking at this is the f16, which lets you add keywords to your powers without relying on items or Arcane Admixture. (Although the AP feature plays nicely with this idea). You can't really use the first f11, although the second is nice. The e11 and u12 tend to put you where you don't want to be, but could come in handy. Reserve Maneuver the e11 though. The d20's a great blaster power.
Phrenic Master:
(D394) MC Shaman. A surprisingly +controller PP from a Leader class, this path offers a save penalty on APs, dazing retribution for attacking your spirit, and the ability to redirect your powers through it. A dazing e11, damage reducing u12 and dominating d20 round out the package. A very good pick if you've got the Wisdom for it.
Storm Scourge:
(AP) MC Warlock. Only for Lightning-based Blasters. And they want the f16. Because it's fun, and really vicious when mixed with lightning blasts or Chain Lightning. The d20 has a great effect line, so no big deal if you miss with it. You generally won't be able to invest enough in Charisma to hit with it or the e11 on a blaster setup.[/sblock]
Racial Paragon Paths:
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Dragonborn:
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Ninefold Master:
(PHR D) A
blaster-y path, the real draw is increasing the usability of your breath attack. The u12's pretty good, but the other two powers are average at best.
Glee-born:
(D385) Mediocre to sub-par features, but the powers are decent. Not a great choice overall.
Mithral Arm:
(D385) A collection of good features and a great utility (It's Shield, but better!) let down by a pretty weak daily. A good choice for a D-born controller wizard.[/sblock]
Eladrin:
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Bralani Wintersoul:
(D384) A decent path for an Eladrin Cold-based Blaster, with some control thrown in for good measure. A bit of an odd combo in the first place, but good for that combo.
Shiere Knight:
(PHB2) Okay features and decent, if slightly inaccurate, powers with a good escape utility. You could do worse, but you can also do better.[/sblock]
Elf:
[sblock]
Twilight Guardian:
(PHB2) Extra accuracy on APs, boosts to a very useful skill, and being able to ignore the DT you create are all decent. The powers are a bit subpar for control and inaccurate though.[/sblock]
Genasi:
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Element Unchained:
(D391) Mainly for
Blasters in need of a decent way to convert damage types on their powers, thanks to the f11. The AP feature's okay, the f16's pretty good, the e11 is near unresistable, the u12 is pretty horrible, and the d20 would be pretty good if you can somehow get a decent basic attack. Sadly that's a bit difficult for you, outside of MC Swordmage for Intelligent Blademaster. But if you did that, you should take Malec-Keth Janissary.[/sblock]
Gnome:
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Fey Beguiler:
(PHB2) The only good things about this path are getting a second use of one of your utilities and the skill training. Everything else ranges from average (the e11) to the downright awful (the d20 and the AP feature)[/sblock]
Human:
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Adroit Explorer:
(PHB2) Always a strong option. Extra APs, an extra use of one of your best powers, and greatly increased survivability. The d20's a bit average, but the rest of the path is great.[/sblock]
Shardmind:
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Shard Disciple:
(PHB3) Extra mobility out of your decent racial power, an extra use and some controller-y powers make this a reasonable choice.[/sblock]
Tiefling:
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Lost Soul:
(PHR T) The real draw here is the AP feature, which adds quite a boost to a
Blaster's nova, and the turn after it. The f11's free damage, but from a trigger you would rather didn't happen. The f16's okay, the u12's great and the e11's a good of use of your IA. The d20's a wall, but the climb clause can cause a lot of damage. Decent enough.
Turathi Highborn: (PHB2) Good for both Blasters and Controllers, thanks to its +damage features and controller powers. Pity about the inacuraccy, but a Staff of Sleep and Charm will help that. You can use the e11 on your favourite melee striker for real viciousness. A great choice, if a bit unfocused overall.[/sblock][/sblock]
On Epic Destinies: Again, only those worth taking or of particular relevance will be listed.
Epic Destinies:
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Archlich:
(AP) An Int boost, auto damage options, and limited power recovery that gets less limited at 30. A good choice, although be wary about dying before level 24, with the whole 'gone for a day' clause.
Archmage:
(PHB) Your original ED, and it's still an amazing option. Increased usage of your dailies, especially at 30, a great anti-death feature and a no-questions asked recycling utility (Best used out of combat because of its action type, or while under the effect of Time Stop).
Archspell:
(AP) Archmage does the reusable-daily thing better, although the utility power here is pretty decent.
Avangion:
(DSCS) It's really more a leader ED than your's, but the features are solid. +2 to Int and either Wis or Cha, flight, Admixture:Radiant for all your powers and amazing healing options for keeping your party going. Doesn't really help you as a controller, but Blasters may like the admixture.
Chosen/Demigod:
(PHB/DP/FRPG) A bit cliché by now, but it's always a powerful option. +2 to two stats of your choice, power recovery and a solid anti-death feature. Anthem of Progress, High Arcana and Unerring Foreknowledge are probably your best bets for the utility.
Demiurge:
(PsP) MC Psionic class required. +2 to Int and Cha is decent, although more flexibility would be nice, but the real draw is the 24 feature which gives you extra APs to feed to Arcane Mastery, or lets you use that feat and your PP's AP feature in the same encounter.
Destined Scion:
(HoFK) Really could do with some more style, but getting +2 to 2 stats and an accuracy boost
and a 'no, actually, I hit that target, thank you' power is pretty good.
Draconic Incarnation:
(D388) +Int and another stat, and you get to turn into a Dragon. Wins points for style more than anything else, although getting two extra dailies at 30 is decent.
Elf High Mage:
(D367) Elf or Eladrin only. The best part is the second 21 feature, although +Wis might be a total loss depending on your build. Pre-determined rolls, Dice of Auspicious Fortune style, are fairly useful. Cheaper rituals is handy if you make use of them regularly, but wasted otherwise, the utility's a bit underwhelming, and the 24th and 30th level features play out very weirdly. Overall I wouldn't recommend this.
Eternal Seeker:
(PHB) Generally, Wizard is one of the classes poached
from, rather than doing the poaching. Still, there are some odd builds that might make use of it. Its potential really depends on what you're trying to achieve and what's available in other classes to assist that.
Feyliege:
(AP) Fey Origin, Half-Elf or Warlock with Fey Pact required. I like the 24th feature conceptually, but overall, this ED has fallen a bit subpar. The real power is in the 30th level feature, and that can be done earlier for Tieflings, or accessed via Soul of the World or Reincarnate Champion.
Immanence:
(AP) Very defensive, and fairly powerful when taking typed damage, but basically worthless otherwise. Doesn't really help you control or blast, other than by keeping you on your feet to do so. Still, that's not a bad thing to do.
Indomitable Champion:
(HoFL) Stat boosts, the ED. Pretty much the definition of solid, but kinda boring. However, you can't really go wrong with it, and it does lessen your relative squishiness.
Lord of Fate:
(AP) Unaligned alignment required. One of the five or six (or so) mechanical elements in the game that require a certain alignment. Being able to return a nasty save-ends condition to an enemy is nice, pity it doesn't negate it on the PC affected. Decent anti-death feature, but the 30th feature would be better if it came in earlier, and the utility makes combat boring. Team PC should all be hitting on 10 or better, but so might Team Monster depending on their level. Plus it means no crits and no nat 1's, for either side. Could be better.
Magister:
(AP) +2 to Int's good, although depending on your power selection, the 21st feature might only benefit your Will. The anti-death feature's pretty good, as is being able to use rituals as standard actions, although its most powerful use was errataed (There's a reason it mentions Imprisonment specificly). The utility's usefulness depends on your best item power, so fairly variable.
Master of Moments:
(PsP) MC Psionic Class required. The big draw here is the sheer number of extra actions this gives you. Those with a lot of sustain powers will definately want to consider this one. Fortunately, the other features are solid, although the anti-death feature comes in later than I'd really like. I'm not fond of 'delay the inevitable' powers like the utility, but it gets around a lot of solo daze/stun immunity features and could be useful in the right situation.
Parable:
(AP) The features are a bit eclectic, with the only really good one being the action-denying utility, especially when used on a blast that hit most or all of Team PC. You can duplicate the 21st feature, or just fly or teleport by now, the 24th does nothing for when you get hit, or any conditions that might get applied hit or miss, and the anti-death feature comes in late. Pass.
Planeshaper:
(D372) +Int and a double up of your best encounter power start this ED off with a bang. The utility's fairly useful, but be wary that it will probably cause a missed turn or two. The 30th level feature's amazing, and a lot of fun for the creative. The 24th feature's reasonable, but unpredictable and unreliable. A good choice overall.
Radiant One:
(DMA 2009) Probably the ED of choice for Blasters looking for another damage bonus, with the amazing 21st feature adding your Int mod again - even to auto damage like zones, splash effects and Magic Missile. And again, the rest of the ED is no slouch, with a good anti-death feature, a utility that can make you pretty well invulnerable and being able to say 'My turn now!' at 30.
Reincarnate Champion:
(PrP) MC Primal Class required. You're here for one reason: The 21st feature letting you access off-race support, namely that of the Tiefling, especially Royal Command of Asmodeus. Fortunately, you can still get +Int out of it, and the skill boost and anti-death are both decent. The 30th feature's probably a bit mediocre, but you might be able to get creative with it.
Tieflings obviously don't need this, neither do
Deva who have a native option for the same trick.
Sage of Ages:
(AP) My personal favourite ED. The 24th feature is great, the 21st is decent, and even better once it helps you use the truely amazing 26 utility, which is well worth investing in Arcana for. (+5 to saves, +2 to defenses and attacks? Since when do PCs get to be Elite Monsters?) The anti-death feature comes in late, but is very powerful. This ED really exemplifies the 'Knowledge is Power' concept the Wizard runs off.
Soul of the World:
(D385) Deva only. Access Tiefling feat support, get +2 Int/Wis and cherry pick other classes' powers. One of the most powerful EDs out there, although again, like Eternal Seeker your in-class powers will probably suffice. There are some very nice utilities you can fish for though.
Storm Sovereign:
(D372)
Not bad for thunder or lightning based blasters, although the elemental conversion benefit comes in later than it really should. The utility is a fun one to spring on your enemy.
Winter Sovereign:
(D372) Good for
cold based blasters. Save penalties against your effects, get around resistances, free admixture, teleportation and a utility to raise your AC to stratospheric heights. Lacks an anti-death feature, but still pretty good overall.
Witch Queen:
(HoFW) Familiar required to benefit from features. At least it doesn't require you to be a Witch. The anti-death feature takes you out of the campaign for a day, without a counter offering like Archlich, and the 24th feature feels like a PP effect. Remember that your 2nd wind is most likely a standard action. The utility is actually pretty good, but mind that it doesn't go to waste on a minor encounter. The 30th feature's decent, but comes in late, and by this point you should know which encounter powers you need, and there are other ways to achieve this effect.[/sblock]
