For fans of Spellcasting builds in TTRPGs, the introduction of Seasonal releases in Dungeons & Dragons starting in 2026 has the potential to give their magic users a constant wave of new Spells to learn and play with. In fact, players who know how to tinker with their builds know some of these upcoming Spells can potentially become game-breaking if they know how to play with the rules correctly.
However, even before new seasonal content arrives on campaign tables, there are already some Spells in D&D 5e and the 2024 Revised Edition with game-breaking potential. For Spellcasters who know how to manipulate the fabric of reality itself, such Spells are must-haves in their arsenal. Surprisingly enough, some of these Spells are even slept on - that is, until Spellcasters read the fine print.
Contagion
Nerfed Stunlock Can Still Make For An Annoying Spell
Many Spells in the 2024 Revised Edition received their fair share of nerfs, with Contagion being one of them. Its 2014 counterpart is a behemoth of a 5th-Level Necromancy Spell - potentially stunlocking bosses who fail CON Saves. When cast, the 2014 variant of Contagion can inflict an affliction on the target - basically, Disadvantage to checks involving an Attribute and a secondary effect. Among these afflictions, Slimy Doom is the most effective, as its CON Disadvantage comes with a stun whenever the target takes damage.
The 2024 variant of Contagion isn’t as potent, but still makes for a mean Spell. When cast, Contagion still requires the initial CON Save, but this time around, the price for failure is 11d8 Necrotic Damage, the Poisoned Condition, and Disadvantage on Saves with a chosen Ability. Poisoned, in itself, forces Disadvantage on all Attack Rolls and Ability Checks of the target, so forcing an additional Disadvantage on CHA Saves can make Contagion a difficult Spell to break out of.
Spirit Guardians
Activation Difference Transforms Defense Into Lawnmowers
Clerics who want a bit of an extra “layer” between them and foes could always cast Spirit Guardians to have their Spellcaster’s back in tight encounters. Not only do they halve the Speed of creatures that enter their 15-foot space, but the 2014 iteration can also deal 3d8 Damage to creatures that move into or start their turn in the space if they fail a WIS Save. The 2024 version classifies the Spirit Guardians as more of a lawnmower, as the damage dealt by a failed WIS Save remains the same, but the conditions have changed.
The 2024 Spirit Guardians still follow the player, but instead of the Save triggering when enemies start or move into the space, it’s the other way around: when the Spirit Guardians “enter” a creature’s space, as well as whenever they enter the Spirit Guardians’ space or end their turn there. While there’s a caveat of this WIS Save only proccing once per turn, it’s still a hefty 3d8 Damage.
Simulacrum
A Nifty Cloning Tool, If Not For Its Infinite Loop
Considered as one of the most broken Spells in the first outing of Fifth Edition, Simulacrum remains a debated choice for Spellcasters due to its potential for head-scratching moments. Most notably attached to Simulacrum is the infinite clone exploit, where a Spellcaster with a 9th-Level Spell Slot can cast Simulacrum (7th-Level) to create a duplicate of themselves (sans the Spell Slot spent for Simulacrum), use that copy’s 9th-Level Spell Slot to cast Wish and perform its basic spell-replication effect to “mimic” Simulacrum onto the original, creating a second copy with an unspent 9th-Level Spell Slot and so on.
Granted, the 2024 Simulacrum now disallows the copy to cast Simulacrum and the original casting the Spell again, destroying the initial copy. However, nowhere did the errata indicate that the copy cannot use Wish to “mimic” the effects of Simulacrum, as this is merely just casting Wish with a “different” outcome. Even when not used to infinitely duplicate the caster, Simulacrum can be exceptionally powerful when used to mimic other individuals - such as a Big Bad and even their lieutenants, or a well-optimized party member for double the damage potential.
Animal Shapes
Imagine Turning Critters Into Large Beasts
Transformation is the bread and butter of the Druid in Dungeons & Dragons, and Animal Shapes is an 8th-Level Transmutation that takes things to the next level. There are hardly any big changes between the 2014 and 2024 iterations of the Spell, making both versions open to some abuse. Three reasons are given for this fun usage: any number of willing creatures can become targets, each becomes a Large or smaller Beast of the player’s choice, and a Magic Action in subsequent turns can transform all targets into new creatures.
Provided the targets fit the 30-minute range, players can transform a small unit of soldiers into creatures to fight on their behalf. If humanoids end up complaining about a little heroism, Druids can carry a bag of rats, cast Animal Friendship on them, and transform them into Large Beasts that effectively transform encounters into a stampede or force DMs to implement mob mechanics in larger fights. If the transformed creatures aren’t killed (to revert to their original forms), players can cast Animal Shapes again to transform them into yet another creature with full stats.
A Tough Prison To Get Out Of
Already infamous for being a boss-breaking Spell in the original 2014 iteration of Fifth Edition, Forcecage in the 2024 Revised Edition remains a powerful asset for players who want an ace in the hole against tougher encounters. Granted, its new 1,500 GP component minimum and Concentration requirement can make this 7th-Level Evocation Spell on the ridiculously costly side. However, its limited counters make Forcecage quite a difficult Spell to overcome. For starters, the 7th-Level nature of the Spell makes it challenging to Counterspell - especially for more powerful monsters with a limited ability list.
Beyond Counterspell, Disintegrate could also eliminate a Forcecage - but aside from the fact that it’s a 6th-Level Transmutation Spell, Disintegrate also needs line of sight to see. This means they have to have some way of seeing invisibility to even recognize the Forcecage. Enemies do have the easy way out of teleporting outside the Forcecage, provided they win a Charisma Save and even possess a teleportation Spell. Then again, losing said CHA Save wastes the teleportation Spell. They also can’t travel to the Ethereal Plane, as Forcecage blocks it.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
