Tiefling Wizard Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start as a Wizard and choose the School of Abjuration at level 2. Your base stats should be STR 8, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 15, WIS 12, CHA 10. Use Tasha's rules to apply a +2 to Intelligence and +1 to Dexterity, giving you a 17 INT and 14 DEX. This 14 DEX combined with 'Mage Armor' gives you a resting AC of 15, which jumps to 20 with the 'Shield' spell. At level 3, your Tiefling legacy grants a free cast of 'Hellish Rebuke'; while the DC uses your 10 Charisma, half damage on a passed save is still free damage. At level 4, take the Telekinetic feat (+1 Intelligence) to cap your primary casting stat at 18 and gain a bonus-action shove to push enemies into your 'Web' spells.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings 3rd-level spells and your Tiefling 'Darkness' cast. You now have 32 HP, which is dangerously low for Tier 2 play. Rely on your Arcane Ward and Fire Resistance to survive stray fireballs. At level 6, Projected Ward lets you use your reaction to absorb damage for an ally. At level 8, take the Infernal Constitution racial feat. This bumps your 14 Constitution to 15 and grants Cold and Poison resistance. Combined with your natural Fire Resistance, you now resist the three most prevalent non-physical damage types in the game, cementing your role as an untouchable controller.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, you gain 6th-level spells like 'Mass Suggestion'. Your DPR with spells sits around 10.18, but as a Controller, your job isn't damage—it's locking down the field with 'Wall of Force'. At level 12, take the Resilient (Constitution) feat. This rounds your Constitution to 16, boosting your HP to 86, and grants proficiency in Constitution saving throws, guaranteeing you won't drop concentration on 'Hypnotic Pattern' when you take a stray arrow. At level 14, Spell Resistance gives you advantage on saving throws against spells and resistance to spell damage. Stacked with Infernal Constitution, you can laugh off a Lich's 'Cone of Cold'.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 unlocks 9th-level spells, specifically 'Wish' and 'Foresight'. Your HP tops out at 104, but your defensive layers are impenetrable. At level 19, take the Alert feat. As a Controller, going first means dropping a 'Forcecage' on the enemy boss before they take a single legendary action. Alert ensures you are never surprised, allowing your Abjuration/Tiefling defenses to be fully online from round one.

Cantrips

Take 'Mind Sliver' to subtract 1d4 from an enemy's next saving throw, perfectly setting up your leveled control spells. 'Minor Illusion' is mandatory for creating instant full cover since your 14 Dexterity won't help you with stealth. Your Tiefling legacy automatically provides 'Thaumaturgy' for opening unlocked doors from a safe distance.

Level 1-2 Spells

'Shield' and 'Absorb Elements' are non-negotiable for keeping your d6 Hit Die intact. 'Mage Armor' is required to fix your low base AC. At 2nd level, 'Web' is your primary control spell; use your Telekinetic bonus action to shove enemies back into the webs if they manage to break free. Remember that your Tiefling 'Hellish Rebuke' gives you a free reaction damage option when you don't need to cast 'Shield'.

Level 3-5 Spells

'Hypnotic Pattern' is your ultimate 3rd-level encounter ender. 'Sleet Storm' breaks enemy spellcaster concentration and knocks melee fighters prone. At 4th level, 'Polymorph' acts as a massive temporary HP buffer for a dying ally. At 5th level, 'Wall of Force' is the best control spell in the game, allowing you to split encounters in half with no saving throw allowed.

High-Level Spells

At 6th level, 'Globe of Invulnerability' pairs flawlessly with your Abjuration Ward to completely shut down enemy casters. 'Forcecage' at 7th level is an automatic win button against creatures without teleportation. For your 8th-level slot, 'Maze' removes a high-threat target from the battlefield with no initial save, bypassing Legendary Resistances entirely.

Telekinetic

Take this at level 4. It bumps your starting 17 Intelligence to 18. More importantly, it gives you a consistent bonus action, which Wizards notoriously lack. You can shove allies out of melee range to save them from opportunity attacks, or shove enemies 5 feet back into your 'Web' or 'Sleet Storm' area of effect.

Infernal Constitution

Take this at level 8. This Tiefling-exclusive feat from Xanathar's Guide to Everything is incredible for this build. It increases your Constitution by 1, and grants resistance to Cold and Poison damage. Added to your native Fire resistance, you now passively resist a massive chunk of monster abilities, drastically extending the life of your Arcane Ward.

Resilient (Constitution)

Take this at level 12. This adds another +1 to your Constitution (rounding out the odd number left by Infernal Constitution) and gives you proficiency in Constitution saving throws. This is mathematically necessary to maintain concentration on game-winning spells like 'Wall of Force' in Tier 3 play.

Alert

Take this at level 16 or 19. A Controller Wizard who rolls low on initiative has to place their area-of-effect spells awkwardly around their own melee fighters. Alert gives you a +5 to initiative, practically guaranteeing you can drop 'Hypnotic Pattern' while the enemy forces are still clustered together.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Your primary goal is acquiring an Arcane Grimoire +1 to boost your spell save DC and improve your Arcane Recovery. Keep an eye out for a Wand of Magic Missiles, which provides guaranteed force damage without burning your precious low-level spell slots, allowing you to save them for 'Shield'.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Seek out a Cloak of Displacement. Because your Dexterity is stuck at 14, your 'Mage Armor' AC is only 15. Forcing disadvantage on all attacks against you is mathematically superior to a flat AC bump and protects your Arcane Ward from being chipped away by goblin arrows.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

A Staff of Power is the holy grail for a mid-tier Wizard. It grants a +2 bonus to AC, saving throws, and spell attack rolls, plus a battery of extra spells. Pair this with a Ring of Protection to further stack your saving throw bonuses, ensuring your Concentration rarely drops.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Upgrade to the Staff of the Magi and the Robe of the Archmagi. The Robe sets your base AC to 15 + DEX modifier, gives advantage on saving throws against spells, and increases your spell save DC. Combined with your Tiefling resistances and Abjuration features, you are virtually immune to enemy magic.

As a Controller Wizard, your role is to dictate the flow of combat. You are not the primary damage dealer; your melee DPR is an abysmal 3.9 at level 5, and your spell DPR of 7.8 is negligible. Instead, you disable enemies so your party can slaughter them with advantage. Because of your d6 Hit Die, you require a robust frontline to keep enemies from swarming you.

An Ancestral Guardian Barbarian is a perfect pairing. They force enemies to attack them or suffer disadvantage. If an enemy ignores the Barbarian and strikes you, the enemy attacks with disadvantage, and you can punish them with your Tiefling 'Hellish Rebuke'.

A Twilight Domain Cleric is your ideal support. Their Twilight Sanctuary grants pulsing temporary hit points every round. Temporary hit points stack underneath your Abjuration Wizard's Arcane Ward. Between the Cleric's temp HP, your Ward, and your Tiefling Fire Resistance, you can comfortably absorb hits that would instantly kill a normal Wizard.

Artificer 1 Dip

Taking your very first level in Artificer before switching to Wizard is the optimal power-gaming move. It grants proficiency in Constitution saving throws (saving you a feat later), Medium Armor, and Shields. This instantly solves your 14 Dexterity problem, allowing you to wear Half-Plate and a Shield for a resting AC of 19 before casting the 'Shield' spell, all without slowing down your spell slot progression.

Fighter 2 Dip

If you prefer raw burst control over defense, taking two levels of Fighter grants Action Surge. This allows you to cast two leveled spells in a single turn. You can cast 'Mind Sliver' to reduce an enemy's saving throw, Action Surge, and instantly cast 'Flesh to Stone' or 'Maze', bypassing the usual setup rounds required for high-level crowd control.

• Casting Racial Darkness on the Party: Your Tiefling legacy gives you 'Darkness' at level 5, but unless your party has the Devil's Sight invocation or blind fighting, you will blind your own melee fighters. Save it strictly for defensive line-of-sight breaking or covering an escape.
• Relying on Hellish Rebuke in Tier 2+: The innate 'Hellish Rebuke' uses your 10 Charisma for its save DC (unless Tasha's rules shifted it). By level 5, enemies will easily pass the DC 11 save. Treat it as a ribbon feature for finishing off low-HP minions, not a primary damage source.
• Ignoring your AC: With a starting DEX of 13 (bumped to 14), your AC is a massive liability. Do not skip preparing 'Mage Armor' and 'Shield', or you will bleed through your Arcane Ward in a single round of multiattacks.
• Overloading on Concentration Spells: Wizards have access to amazing concentration spells like 'Web', 'Hypnotic Pattern', and 'Wall of Force'. You can only concentrate on one at a time. Ensure your spellbook has instant-duration spells like 'Grease', 'Fireball', and 'Synaptic Static' so you have actions to take after dropping your primary control effect.