Bladesinging is a wizard tradition that blends weapon attacks with spellcasting. In the published rules from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, its defining feature, Bladesong, temporarily improves a wizard’s defense, concentration, and movement. A 2025 Unearthed Arcana document revises several features, but it is playtest material; the rules your table uses determine which version applies.
What is Bladesinging?
Bladesinging is a wizard subclass option for a character called a Bladesinger. Its central idea is to combine swordplay and wizard magic rather than choosing between a weapon-focused turn and a spell-focused character. The official contents listing for Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything places Bladesinging in the Wizard section: D&D Beyond’s Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything contents.
The Tasha-era version removed the elf and half-elf restriction associated with the earlier Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide version. The guide to the revised subclass describes its level 2 features and later progression: D&D Beyond’s Bladesinging guide.
What does Bladesong do in the published Tasha-era rules?
At wizard level 2, Bladesong is a bonus-action feature that lasts one minute. While it is active, it gives the Bladesinger several benefits:
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- Add the character’s Intelligence modifier, with a minimum bonus of +1, to AC.
- Add that modifier to Constitution saving throws made to maintain concentration.
- Increase walking speed by 10 feet.
- Gain advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.
The character can use Bladesong a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses after a long rest. It cannot be started while wearing medium or heavy armor or using a shield. It ends early if the character is incapacitated or uses two hands to make an attack. These restrictions make the feature powerful but temporary, not a permanent defensive upgrade.
What features does a Tasha-era Bladesinger gain as they level?
| Wizard level | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Training in War and Song | Grants light-armor proficiency, proficiency with one chosen one-handed melee weapon, and Performance proficiency if the character does not already have it. |
| 2 | Bladesong | Provides its limited-use, one-minute benefits while active. |
| 6 | Extra Attack | When taking the Attack action, the character can attack twice; one of those attacks can be replaced by a cantrip. |
| 10 | Song of Defense | While Bladesong is active, use a reaction and expend a spell slot to reduce incoming damage by five times the slot’s level. |
| 14 | Song of Victory | While Bladesong is active, add the Intelligence modifier, with a minimum of +1, to melee-attack damage. |
This table summarizes the feature account in D&D Beyond’s guide, not the complete rule text. Use the sourcebook and the rules version selected by the table for adjudication.
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How does a Bladesinger play?
A Bladesinger keeps the wizard’s spell progression while gaining tools for fighting in melee. The wizard spell list also supports ranged attacks and utility, so the character is not limited to swordplay. At level 6, the option to replace one attack with a cantrip gives the Attack action a distinctive spell-and-weapon rhythm.
The trade-off is that this is still a wizard: the subclass has a d6 Hit Die, light-armor proficiency, and defenses that depend in part on a limited-use feature. A Bladesinger may be able to fight up close, but that does not make sustained front-line combat automatically safe. Spell choices can support melee performance or provide useful options when Bladesong is unavailable; planning for both states is more reliable than assuming the feature will always be active.
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How does a Bladesinger compare with other magical combatants?
Bladesinger, Eldritch Knight, and Hexblade comparisons depend on what matters most to the character. The available guide offers qualitative commentary, not controlled damage or survivability measurements, so it does not establish a numerical winner. Compare them along these axes instead:
- Spell progression: how much access the build retains to higher-level spells.
- Durability: hit die and the defenses available without a temporary feature.
- Armor and shields: what the character can use, and whether doing so conflicts with a subclass benefit.
- Melee action economy: how weapon attacks and spells fit into the same turn.
- Reliance on limited-use features: how much the character’s combat plan changes when a resource runs out.
What changed in the 2025 Bladesinger playtest?
Wizards of the Coast’s 2025 Unearthed Arcana: Forgotten Realms Subclasses PDF labels its Bladesinger text as updates since Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. It is a playtest draft, not the published Tasha-era rules. Among the changes in that document:
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- Bladesong allows the character to use Intelligence for weapon attack and damage rolls, and its uses are tied to the Intelligence modifier.
- Training in War and Song grants proficiency with a broader set of melee martial weapons that lack the Two-Handed or Heavy property; it also lets a proficient melee weapon serve as a wizard spellcasting focus and offers a skill choice.
- At level 14, Song of Victory lets the character make a weapon attack as a bonus action after casting a spell with an action.
These are changes in the 2025 playtest document, not a reason to mix its feature text with the published version. Check which rules your DM and group have adopted. The PDF also describes the tradition as one that “incorporates swordplay and dance”: Wizards of the Coast’s 2025 Unearthed Arcana PDF.
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