Just an addendum to the bardic swiftblade : The standard Bard 7/Swiftblade 9/SC 1/Sac Ex 3 doesn't snag 9th level spells. If you pick up a means of getting 3rd level slots and haste earlier, you can get in at Bard 6, which means only the 7th level of Swiftblade loses CL, giving 9/10 SC casting. Kind of a pain in the ass getting all the feats (Dodge, Mobility, Planar Touchstone [Time domain], Sanctum Spell is the least intensive method), but doable at 6th with a human, and anything with flaws. Will net you CL 17/BAB 16 assuming a build of Bard 6/Swiftblade 1-4/Sublime Chord 2/Swiftblade 5-9/Sacred Exorcist 3, or BAB 17 if you go with something like Abjurant Champion (though that loses a feat to Combat Casting).