How I Meta Your Mother: Ranking the Sorcerer Subclasses

Summary

Colby ranks sorcerer subclasses by their contributions to damage, survivability, support, control, and utility. He considers both revised 5.5 subclasses and older 5e subclasses, noting that older sorcerer subclass features would begin at level 3 under the newer rules.

Subclass Rankings and Highlights

• Divine Soul — S tier, ranked just above Aberrant

  • Its defining strength is access to both the sorcerer and cleric spell lists, giving it exceptional versatility in damage, healing, support, and survivability.
  • Features such as Favored by the Gods can improve an important attack or saving throw, while its later features add healing and flight.
  • Colby considers it a particularly powerful support sorcerer, though its relative standing against Aberrant depends partly on how many encounters a group has between long rests.

• Aberrant — S tier

  • Its thematic spell list offers a strong mix of damage and control.
  • Psionic Sorcery lets it cast subclass spells using sorcery points more efficiently than ordinary spell-slot conversion, sometimes without verbal or somatic components. This can stretch its resources and enable combinations with Quickened Spell.
  • Telepathic Speech and later transformation and teleportation features add utility. It offers little direct support, but Colby sees its overall package as among the strongest sorcerer options.

• Clockwork Soul — A tier

  • Excels in survivability and support, with features that can cancel advantage or disadvantage and create a damage-absorbing ward for itself or an ally.
  • Its spell list includes strong defensive and restorative options, and its high-level feature can heal, repair objects, and end certain spells.
  • Wall of Force is a major control option, though Colby says it is less distinctive now that another feat can grant access to it. He also notes that the subclass lost some flexibility in the newer rules.

• Draconic — A tier, below Clockwork

  • Offers practical defensive benefits early: extra hit points and an unarmored Armor Class based on Dexterity and Charisma.
  • Elemental Affinity provides resistance to one damage type and adds Charisma-based damage to spells of that type.
  • Later features grant flight and a free casting of Summon Dragon. Colby likes the subclass but finds its benefits solid rather than exceptional.

• Shadow — high B tier

  • Its features can let the sorcerer see in magical darkness, survive dropping to zero hit points, and later teleport through dim light or darkness.
  • The revised Beast of Ill Omen is a standout: it can be summoned as a bonus action and imposes disadvantage on nearby enemies’ saving throws against the sorcerer’s spells.
  • Colby likes its control potential but feels many of its other features are only moderate.

• Wild Magic — B tier, below Shadow

  • Tides of Chaos grants advantage on a D20 test and helps trigger Wild Magic Surges more often.
  • Surges can produce benefits across many categories, but they are unpredictable and can also be harmless or harmful. Later features make surges more reliable or allow the sorcerer to choose an effect.
  • Colby recognizes its exceptional fun and chaos, but ranks it in the middle because its benefits are inconsistent.

• Lunar — C tier

  • Its moon phases provide different spell options and situational benefits, with some metamagic cost reductions and extra flexibility.
  • The subclass can contribute across several categories, but many benefits are limited, conditional, or arrive at high levels. Colby describes it as a collection of modest features rather than a subclass with one especially compelling build-around strength.

• Spellfire — C tier, below Lunar

  • Provides some healing and support spells, temporary hit points, and a chance to regain sorcery points when a target fails against Counterspell.
  • Its damage feature is modest, and most of its strongest defensive benefits arrive late.
  • Colby considers it serviceable, but less versatile and less powerful than Divine Soul.

• Storm — D tier

  • Its damage and defensive features are narrow or arrive late, and it lacks a subclass spell list.
  • It offers limited short-distance flight and, at high levels, lightning and thunder immunity plus flight for allies.
  • Colby finds its control, support, and utility features too weak overall, despite the appealing theme.

The video closes with a broad comparison against subclasses from other classes, but Colby treats the placements as approximate and open to adjustment. He invites viewers to share their disagreements and Wild Magic stories.

Featured People and Sources

• Colby — host of D4: D&D Deep Dive.
• Randall Hampton — provided the video’s sorcerer artwork.
• Helena Bucket — suggested the How I Met Your Mother title.
• Preston — created the Shadow Sorcerer thumbnail Colby mentions.
• D4 Discord members, channel members, and patrons — credited for suggestions and support.
• Dragonlance and Raistlin — referenced in the discussion of the Lunar Sorcerer.
• Indigo Girls — mentioned in the outtakes.