best 5th level spell for blaster sorcerer

[CTSparky]

guys and gals,
I have a lev9 sorecerer, 1 Dragon disciple in a party of 5, and I am the only arcane spellcaster. I am going to level up and I'd like to make my chioce of a 5th levle spell worth it.
I only get one spell so I want to make it count. The caster is mostly a blaster, but being the only arcane caster has meant that I have a few buff spells. Also any material is available, but I'd like to stick to the more core, and I don't necessarily pick the most abused spell of that level.

The ones I'm thinking of so far are:
Teleport (no one has a travel spell)
Hold Monster (Told it is the best spell for the money, and in keeping with the offensive spellcaster principle)
Mass Fire Shiled (a all around party buff, but you only need one or two castings)
Is there something I missed?
What spell would you pick?

Thanks guys.

 

[pawsplay]

Hold monster is nice. Teleport is too situational. Anything could be burned for Arcane Strike.

 

[paradox42]

For my money, travel spells are the best, because you no longer have to worry about resting in the dungeon or "how are we going to get there." Teleport can also help tactically in combat, but since you seem to be ignoring 5th-level damage spells, it looks like you're concentrating on your lower levels for blasting. So I say, go with the mobility- you'll learn all kinds of fun ways to abuse it. And the party will thank you profusely.

I say this not only as a player of games that have gone to mid levels, but also as a DM of more than four games that have been at high level (including the two I'm running now, one at 16th and the other at 28th)- believe me when I say, after you have been in a party with a teleporter, you will miss it when it is gone. Even I miss it, and I'm the DM! It's like broadband Internet- you can't fully appreciate just how useful it is until you have it. But once you do, you won't regret it.

 

[CTSparky]

I'm not against blast spells either

I wouldn't mind you telling me the best spell either. I wouldn't mind having a 5th level blast type spell. I will have 5 castings of the spell for what it is worth.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Telekinesis takes a lot of beating for a sorcerers 5th level spell.

a) It has got lots of different uses

b) you can throw stuff with it to do a fair bit of damage

c) you can use it for "long" range grapple/trip/disarm/etc actions, with an excellent BAB-equivalent (use your level + cha bonus). It is a brilliant anti-mage tactic, and great against any foe that isn't too big.

 

[Squire James]

A "blaster mage" who isn't even considering Cone of Cold? The first good cold spell you can get? If you're even thinking of Hold Person or Teleport first, you need to turn in your "blaster mage" hat because you ain't one!

Keep your hat. Pick Cone of Cold. Take advantage of the 3.5e "spell swap at even levels" rule to change a now-useless combat spell into something more useful if that makes you feel better. Make the next red dragon you fight regret his Fire subtype...

 

[Gold Roger]

A "blaster mage" who isn't even considering Cone of Cold? The first good cold spell you can get? If you're even thinking of Hold Person or Teleport first, you need to turn in your "blaster mage" hat because you ain't one!

Keep your hat. Pick Cone of Cold. Take advantage of the 3.5e "spell swap at even levels" rule to change a now-useless combat spell into something more useful if that makes you feel better. Make the next red dragon you fight regret his Fire subtype...

I'm not so sure wether Cone of Cold is really such a good choice. At this level it doesn't deal more damage than a fireball. What's left is a Cone effect, which is imho, the most unwieldy and suboptimal area effect out there, and another energy type. Granted, there are many fire subtype creatures, but there are other cold effects at lower levels once you even grap one book out of Core.

Considering higher level slots can still be spend on lower level spells, I'd say Cone of Cold might be a good second 5th level spell, but the first one is better spend on teleport, which completely changes the game and is pretty essential from a certain point on.

 

[CTSparky]

A "blaster mage" who isn't even considering Cone of Cold? The first good cold spell you can get? If you're even thinking of Hold Person or Teleport first, you need to turn in your "blaster mage" hat because you ain't one!

Keep your hat. Pick Cone of Cold. Take advantage of the 3.5e "spell swap at even levels" rule to change a now-useless combat spell into something more useful if that makes you feel better. Make the next red dragon you fight regret his Fire subtype...

You also have to realize that I'm the ONLY Arcane caster in the group. Right now my spell list looks like this:
1st
Charm person, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep (Which I will replace)
2nd
Knock (I used it once in the game and I still like it), Protection from arrows, Scorching Ray, Melf's Acid Arrow
3rd
Dispel Magic, Haste, Lightning Bolt, Fireball
4th
Greater Invisibility, Wall of Fire
5th
????

I agree that Cone is a bit unwieldy (I'm a DDM player), and it requires I get in the face of an opponent (Not so bad if I have greater invis).
I know in DDM you can use higher level spells to cast lower level effect, but where is that in the D&D PHB or DMG?

What other spells am I missing? Is there anything i overlooked?
Also I never wanted to min/max, so here are my feats:
Scribe Scroll, Craft Wand, Improved Counterspell (Which I never used), Summon Familiar

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Screw versatility! Go with Baleful Polymorph! It's just plain fun. Not only that, but as the creature keeps its hit dice and such, trapping it in a cage can make for a very funny pet to release in battle. It'd be like THAT bunny from Monty Python, you know?

 

[Wolfwood2]

The best 5th level blast spell for a sorcerer is an Empowered 3rd level blast spell. That way you can pick up a useful utility spell like Teleport as your 5th level spell, but most of the time you'll use that spell slot for Empowered Fireballs.