The Magus Is D&D Beyond’s New Spellsword, and Your DM Gets a Say
Every group has a player who wants to swing a sword and cast Counterspell in the same round. A new class on D&D Beyond is built for exactly that player, and for the DM who has to say yes or no.
The Magus is a third-party class from Sterling Vermin Adventuring Co., released on D&D Beyond on October 5 for the 2024 rules at $14.99, according to VICE’s report. The pack includes six subclasses (Arcane Order, Heaven’s Guard, Knights Stygian, Shadow Court, Sidereal Cabal and Sylvan Circle), more than 30 new spells that other classes can take too, and 20 magic items. Because it’s partnered content rather than an official Wizards of the Coast book, the same report says players should check with their DM before using one.
Here’s how it plays. The Magus is a half caster that leans toward the spell side, with access to 6th-level spells. Reviewer Ben Lawrance at Dungeon Mister notes it gets cantrips alongside the Attack action instead of Extra Attack, a smaller hit die than the Paladin or Ranger, and no heavy armor. Its signature feature, Esoteric Eye, lets you look at an enemy and make your spells harder to resist. Bell of Lost Souls, in its look at the subclasses, calls the Heaven’s Guard version tanky enough to stand on the front line.
The reviews are positive, with caveats worth reading. Dungeon Mister gives the pack 4 out of 5 and calls it a worthy spell sword class, but says the 5th-level spell Reflect Magic is too strong and should be banned or toned down, since it could stop any spell, including 9th-level ones. It also flags some power creep in the Sidereal Cabal and Sylvan Circle subclasses. Wargamer’s Mollie Russell, in her first impressions, calls it one of the best multiclass dips in the 2024 rules, but also calls it thematically disjointed. She says the half-caster slot progression is too slow, and that the class doesn’t do enough to improve your martial side at higher levels.
So the pitch and the problem are the same thing. A class built to be great at both swinging and casting will tempt players to grab its best pieces and leave the rest. If you’re a player, that’s fun to build. If you’re the DM, it means reading the spell list before you say yes, not after the first session.
Our read is simple. At $14.99 it’s an easy buy for anyone who wants the spellsword fantasy, and the reviewers we found agree it delivers. Just take the DM conversation seriously, and bring the Reflect Magic question with you. If you’re building a table’s worth of characters, the 2024 Player’s Handbook is the rulebook this class is written for.
Header image: Photo by Maria Pop, via Pexels.
