RACESDeva (PHB II) - INT and WIS bonus are good for your main attack and a nice boost to your typically weak Will defense. Racial power is awesome, and a boosted WIS makes Wandering Swordmage pretty viable. Immortal Warding (Arcane Power) lets them keep their warding up while unconscious, so even if you drop, you can stay protected.
Dragonborn - an extra area effect attack, and some attack bonuses. No INT boost, but a STR boost for Assault Swordmages.
Drow (FRPG) - no boost to primary or secondary statistics, but you COULD do worse.
Dwarf - minor action Second Wind is nice, and a CON boost for Shielding Swordmages.
Eladrin - +2 DEX and +2 INT are nice benefits, and the feat
Intelligent Swordmage makes the lost STR boost seem negligable. Eladrin Soldier boosts your damage, and the Moon Elf/Sun Elf feats are sort of cool too. Eladrin Swordmage Advance (Arcane Power) gives you a free Melee Basic Attack when you use your Fey Step power - sweet!
Elf - no stat boosts to any primary or secondary stat, but Elven Accuracy, Elven Precision and Wild Elf Luck are just so frickin' awesome.
Genasi (FRPG) - also introduced in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, this race gives +2 STR, +2 INT - perfect stat boosts for a Swordmage, and Assault Swordmages in particular. Elemental Assault (FRPG) gives you an untyped damage bonus when you make an Assault attack.
Githyanki (MM) - +2 CON, +2 INT - a good pairing for a Shielding Swordmage. Telekinetic Leap is a useful mobility power, although its a Ranged power, so be careful.
Gnome (PHB II) - INT and CHA boost, and solid racial power.
Goliath (PHB II) - Temporary Resist 5/10/15 all as a racial power and STR and CON boosts, make Goliaths a rock-solid (get it?
) choice
Half-Elf - a CON boost, and you can grab another class' at-will as an encounter power. Pretty cool.
Half-Orc - The racial power saves Half-Orcs from being a trap. Swordmages are weak in the damage department, and getting a once/encounter boost is pretty useful.
Halfling - no boost to primary or secondary statistics, but you COULD do worse.
Humans - +2 to any stat, an extra at-will and an extra feat - can't go too wrong with Humans. Risky Aegis (Arcane Power) entices your marks to attack you by giving them Combat Advantage against you, but you gain attack/damage bonuses too.
Shifter -
Longtooth isn't a terrible choice for the regeneration, but
Razorclaw is not very useful to you at all.
Tiefling - +2 INT is nice, but that +2 CHA doesn't really help you. Infernal Rebuke and Hellfire Blood add attack bonus attack and damage to Fire attacks.
FEATSHEROIC TIER[spoiler]
Astral Fire - wants you to invest in DEX and CHA, and CHA is a big, fat dump stat for you.
Burning Blizzard - you have a good number of Cold powers, but not that many Acid powers. Still could be useful to up your damage.
Closing Advantage (Arcane Power) - +'s to attack bonus is always useful.
Combat Casting (Arcane Power) - an old friend makes its way back to us. If you like the Ranged/Area options a Swordmage has, you should take this so you don't eat OAs.
Escalating Assault (FRPG) - only gives you the attack bonus with the basic melee attack that Aegis of Assault grants - doesn't say anything about what happens when you use a power to replace the Assault attack (I'll change the rating if I find out you can use the bonus with those replacement powers)
Eladrin Swordmage Advance - Eladrin get lots of goodies in general, and this lets them make a free attack. It is unclear whether it allows you to attack everyone you wind up adjacent to, or only one - talk to your DM to see if Eladrin Swordmage Advance is right for you.
Elemental Blade Attunement[/u][/i] - Genasi are advised to not take this feat - its a feat bonus, so you might as well just take Weapon Focus.
Focused Expertise - +1 to ALL attacks with any single weapon, whether you use it as a Weapon or an Implement.
Grasping Ensnarement - Slows an enemy you use your Aegis on.
Implement Expertise (Light Blades or Heavy Blades) -
+1 attack rolls! Should be obvious why that is good. Admiral Ackbar save you, should you take this feat, now that we have Focused Expertise.
Immortal Warding - Devas can keep their Warding up while unconscious, unlike the rest of us mere mortals. I'd underline it, but not everyone wants to play a Deva.
Improved Swordbond - Improved Swordbond lets you retrieve your sword of choice from 20 squares away. Whoop-de-freaking-do.
Improved Swordmage Warding -
Required for Devas, but still pretty useful for everyone else, but if you drop, you lose even more of your AC.
Intelligent Swordmage (FRPG) - use INT instead of STR for your basic melee attacks. Just take it.
Raging Storm - like
Burning BlizzardRetributive Shield (FRPG) - The bonus from
Retributive Shield only lasts until the end of your next turn, but you can apply it to any power.
Student of Sword Magic (FRPG) - Gain a Spellbook - be like a Wizard!
Toughness - almost always a good pick
Weapon Expertise (Light Blades or Heavy Blades) -
+1 attack rolls! Should be pretty obvious why that is good. Admiral Ackbar save you, should you take this feat, now that we have Focused Expertise.
Weapon Focus - increase your damage with all attacks when you use a weapon from a weapon group, including when you use your weapon as an Implement power![/spoiler]
PARAGON TIER[spoiler]
Arcane Reach - you have a Close burst at-will, and lots of other Close bursts - put them to work!
Distant Swordbond (FRPG) - like Improved Swordbond, but from 1 mile away - not the best way to blow a feat, but at least its a whole freaking mile. If for some godforsaken reason you took
Improved Swordbond, ditch it ASAP when you hit Paragon tier so you can take
Distant Swordbond - its not a prerequisite.
Double Aegis (FRPG) - mark 2 enemies!
Great Fortitude - Swordmages depend on STR or CON, so it is unlikely your Fortitude defense needs significant improvement, but improving your defenses is never a terrible idea.
Heavy Blade Opportunity -
Intelligent Blademater sort of makes this unecessary, but still - your at-wills are far more interesting than your basic melee attack. You probably have the required DEX already because you're going to take
Arcane Reach - RIGHT?
Iron Will - your probably kept your WIS and CHA low, even Wandering Swordmages. Boosting your Will defense should be a fairly high priority.
Lightning Reflexes - Swordmages depend on INT heavily, so it is unlikely your Reflex defense needs significant improvement, but improving your defenses is never a terrible idea.
Solid Sound - you have at-will powers with the
Force and
Thunder keywords, so there's opportunity to give yourself +2 to all your defenses.[/spoiler]
EPIC TIER[spoiler]
Irresistible Flame - reduce fire resistance by 20. Pretty hefty number.
Total Aegis (FRPG) - upgrade Double Aegis to Total Aegis when you reach Epic! Double Aegis is not a requirement for Total Aegis![/spoiler]
Armor/Weapon Proficiencies -
If you burn two feats for Heavy Shield Proficiency and Shield Specialization, you can get the same bonus to AC as your Swordmage Warding. Spiked Shields (Adventurer's Vault) are considered light blades. Hide Armor proficiency is also useful. For weapons, you probably want to invest in proficiency with Heavy Blades. The Khopesh (Adventurer's Vault) looks like a good candidate for Shielding Swordmages, the Fullblade (Adventurer's Vault) a goodie for Assault Swordmages. Can't go wrong with the Bastard Sword or Greatsword, either.Post PHB II + Arcane Power, I don't consider any any weapon proficiency to be really worthwhile, now that there are lots of good feats to take.