| This is Don's opinion as to the most effective spells of each level. Be warned that this list is not complete, and also that there are many specialized spells out there that are very powerful if used in the proper way.
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 1
| | PH2: Alarm, Armor, *Color Spray, **Enlarge, Light, *Magic Missile, Pro.from Evil, Shield, Sleep
| | GRA: *Nystul's Flash, Otiluke's Smoky Sphere
| | PH1: Push, *Spider Climb, Detect Illusion (Ill), *Detect Invisibility (Ill)
| | UA: **Chromatic Orb (Ill), Phantom Armor (Ill)
| | OA: Elemental Burst (WJ), **Hail of Stone (WJ), Warp Wood (WJ)
| | FRA: Catapult
| | TM: Fire Burst, *Fist of Stone, *Nahal's Reckless Dweomer
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 2
| | PH2: Alter Self, Blur, *Detect Invisibility, Invisibility, Knock, Levitate, Locate Object, *Melf's Acid Arrow, Misdirection, Ray of Enfeeblement, Rope Trick, *Spectral Hand, Stinking Cloud, *Web
| | GRA: Bigby's Dextrous Digits, Bigby's Silencing Hand, **Drawmij's Adventurer's Luck, Nystul's Blazing Beam, *Otto's Tones of Forgetfulness, Rary's Aptitude Appropriater
| | UA: *Vocalize
| | OA: *Enchanted Blade (WJ), Fire Shuriken (WJ), *Ice Knife (WJ), *Smoky Form (WJ), *Wind Breath (WJ)
| | FRA: **Agannazar's Scorcher, *Bladethirst, Flying Fist, **Snilloc's Snowball Swarm
| | TM: *Hornung's Baneful Deflector, Maximillian's Earthen Grasp
| | PHBR4: *Choke, Detect Life, **Ghoul Touch
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 3
| | PH2: Blink, **Dispel Magic, *Fireball, *Fly, Gust of Wind, **Haste, Hold Person, *Lightning Bolt, Monster Summoning I, *Non-Detection, Pro.from Normal Missiles, Suggestion, *Vampiric Touch, *Wraithform
| | GRA: Drawmij's Marvelous Shield, *Nystul's Golden Revelation, *Nystul's Radiant Baton, Otiluke's Acid Cloud, Otto's Crystal Rhythms, Tenser's Deadly Strike, Tenser's Eye of the Eagle
| | PH1: Dispel Illusion (Ill), *Paralyzation (Ill)
| | OA: *Steam Breath (WJ)
| | FRA: Dire Charm, Dispel Silence, Ghost Armor, *Icelance, Mummy Touch, *Paralyze, Proof from Teleportation, Revenance
| | TM: *Alternate Reality, *Augmentation I, Maximillian's Stony Grasp, Watery Double
| | PHBR4: **Delay Death, *Invisible Mail
| | FOR1: **Venomdust
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 4
| | PH2: Charm Monster, Confusion, Contagion, Dimension Door, *Emotion, *Enervation, *Evard's Black Tentacles, *Fire Shield, *Fumble, **Improved Invisibility, **Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Monster Summoning II, Phantasmal Killer, *Polymorph Other, Polymorph Self, **Stoneskin, Wall of Fire, Wall of Ice, Wizard Eye
| | GRA: Drawmij's Instant Exit, Mordenkainen's Electric Arc, *Nystul's Blacklight Burst, **Nystul's Lightburst, *Otiluke's Steaming Sphere, Otto's Drums of Despair, Otto's Tonal Attack
| | PH1: **Dispel Exhaustion (Ill)
| | OA: Melt Metal (WJ), *Quell (WJ), **Transfix (WJ), *Wall of Bones (WJ)
| | FRA: Beltyn's Burning Blood, Fire Gate, Missile Mastery, Phase Trap, *Thunderlance, Wall of Sand
| | TM: Locate Creature, **Minor Spell Turning, *Thunder Staff, *Unluck
| | DK: Spider Strands
| | PHBR4: *Fire Aura, **Otiluke's Dispelling Screen
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 5
| | PH2: Advanced Illusion, Animate Dead, *Bigby's Interposing Hand, Chaos, *Cloudkill, *Cone of Cold, *Dismissal, Feeblemind, Hold Monster, **Magic Jar, Monster Summoning III, Passwall, Shadow Door, Telekinesis, *Teleport, Wall of Force, Wall of Iron, Wall of Stone
| | GRA: Bigby's Fantastic Fencers, *Bigby's Strangling Grip, **Nystul's Enveloping Darkness, Nystul's Radiant Arch, Otiluke's Polar Screen, Otiluke's Radiant Screen, **Otto's Gong of Isolation, *Rary's Superior Spell Enhancer, **Tenser's Primal Fury
| | PH1: **Maze (Ill)
| | UA: Dolor, **Tempus Fugit (Ill)
| | OA: *Mass (WJ), Metal Skin (WJ), Spirit Self (WJ)
| | FRA: **Ironguard, *Presper's Moonbow
| | TM: **Lower Resistance, *Magic Staff, *Von Gasik's Refusal, *Vortex
| | PHBR4: Invulnerability to Normal Weapons, *Throbbing Bones
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 6
| | PH2: **Anti-Magic Shell, *Bigby's Forceful Hand, *Chain Lightning, **Contingency, Death Fog, *Death Spell, *Disintegrate, Eyebite, *Geas, *Globe of Invulnerability, Mass Suggestion, **Mirage Arcana, *Mislead, Monster Summoning IV, *Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, Project Image, **Repulsion, Stone to Flesh, *Tenser's Transformation, **True Seeing
| | GRA: Otiluke's Diamond Screen, Otiluke's Excruciating Screen, **Tenser's Fortunes of War
| | OA: Metal to Rust (WJ), *Pain (WJ), **Sword of Darkness (WJ)
| | FRA: Grimwald's Greymantle, *Imbue Undead with Spell Ability, Lich Touch, Power Word Silence
| | TM: *Augmentation II, Lorlovelm's Shadowy Transformation, *Wildshield
| | DK: Improved Haste, **Improved Slow
| | PHBR4: *Blackmantle, Dragon Scales, **Invulnerability to Magical Weapons
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 7
| | PH2: *Bigby's Grasping Hand, Control Undead, *Delayed Blast Fireball, Finger of Death, *Forcecage, **Limited Wish, Monster Summoning V, Phase Door, **Power Word Stun, *Prismatic Spray, *Reverse Gravity, *Sequester, *Spell Turning, *Teleport without Error, Vanish
| | GRA: Otiluke's Death Screen, Otiluke's Siege Sphere
| | PH1: **Alter Reality (Ill), **Prismatic Wall (Ill), First Level M-U Spells
| | UA: Volley
| | OA: **Body Outside Body (WJ), Withering Palm (WJ)
| | FRA: **Spectral Guard, **Spelltrap
| | TM: Acid Storm, *Bloodstone's Frightful Joining, *Hornung's Surge Selector, Intensify Summoning, Malec-Keth's Flame Fist, *Spell Shape, Steal Enchantment, *Suffocate
| | DK: **Semipermanency
| | RC: Create Normal Monsters, Teleport Any Object
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 8
| | PH2: *Antipathy-Sympathy, Incendiary Cloud, Mass Charm, **Maze, Monster Summoning VI, Otiluke's Telekinetic Sphere, *Otto's Irrestible Dance, **Permanency, *Polymorph Any Object, *Power Word Blind, **Prismatic Wall, Sink, *Symbol, Trap the Soul
| | OA: Giant Size (WJ), Whirlwind (WJ)
| | FRA: Death Link, *Gateway, **Great Shout, Spell Engine
| | TM: *Abi-Daizim's Horrid Wilting, Gunther's Kaleidoscopic Strike, Wildzone
| | DK: Pro.from Time
| | RC: Create Magical Monsters, *Force Field
| | PHBR4: *Fear Ward, Shadow Form
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| | WIZARD LEVEL 9
| | PH2: *Bigby's Crushing Hand, *Gate, *Imprisonment, *Meteor Swarm, Monster Summoning VII, *Mordenkainen's Disjunction, *Power Word Kill, *Prismatic Sphere, *Shape Change, **Temporal Stasis, **Time Stop, Weird, **Wish
| | FRA: Master Undead, Elminster's Evasion, **Spellstrike, Virus Charm, Worldwalk
| | TM: *Chain Contingency, *Elemental Aura, **Estate Transference, Wail of the Banshee, Wildfire, Wildwind
| | OA: **Internal Fire (WJ)
| | RC: *Create Any Monster, **Heal
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