The Wizard is infamous as one of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition‘s most powerful classes. It has the largest spell list in the game by far, coupled with a unique way of learning more that doesn’t require levelling up.

This, alongside the sheer power of magic in D&D 5e, makes the Wizard unmatched as long as it has time to prepare. However, there’s no reason you shouldn’t try and make your D&D 5e Wizard build as strong as possible (assuming it suits your table).

The right race for a D&D 5e Wizard can scale their power even further, either doubling down on their spellcasting or plugging the class’s many weaknesses to undo some of its balancing. Either way, some races are a much more powerful choice than others.

Wizard Still Benefits from Custom Lineage and Variant Human

Wizards have all the power they need from spellcasting. Nonetheless, they still benefit from free feats as much as any class. As a result, the Variant Human and Custom Lineage stand out as two of the best D&D 5e Wizard races (as they do in all of these articles).

Wizards rely on their Intelligence for their spell attack bonus, saving throw DC, several skills, and the sheer number of spells they can prepare. They don’t want to be behind the curve ever, which normally limits feats. With Variant Human or Custom Lineage, they can have their cake and eat it.

War Caster or Resilient: Constitution are welcome feats on any D&D 5e Wizard build from a low level, particularly if the latter can boost hit points. Likewise, Fey Touched, Strixhaven Initiate, or other magic-learning spells can hold their own against many other race features.

The Wizard lives and dies by its spellcasting, but a free skill is still very worthwhile for them to have, particularly as the party might not have other high-Intelligence characters. As a result, sheer flexibility makes the Variant Human (or Custom Lineage) a top-tier race for Wizards in D&D 5e.

Autognome Saves One Spell Slot a Day and More

One of the few things balancing D&D 5e Wizards is their fragility. They have low hit points and no armour. A handful of spells can help mitigate this. For instance, Mage Armor provides an Armor Class of 13 + Dexterity modifier.

Alternatively, a Wizard can save themselves one spell slot per day and be an Autognome. The race gets this as an inherent feature, and that’s on top of plenty of other abilities.

Sure, Mage Armor only needs a first-level slot, but those are always worth having for spells like Shield, Detect Magic, Silvery Barbs, and more. Why not get your Armor Class bonus all the time, without costing an action?

This isn’t all that makes the Autognome one of the best Wizard races in D&D 5e. Healing Machine lets Wizards heal themselves with a cantrip and hit dice while still benefitting from other party members’ spells.

Built for Success is another excellent feature for D&D 5e Wizards. A d4 is often enough to tip a crucial ability check, attack roll, or saving throw in the right direction. In particular, it can help pass a vital Concentration check and avoid wasting spell slots.

Tortle Is Almost Unbreakable

Armor Class will be a persistent issue for many Wizard races in D&D 5e. They can’t avoid all attackers, and almost anyone can hit them with ease. Avoiding this is often a whole-campaign process of magic items, spell choices, and ability score improvements.

Alternatively, you can play a Tortle Wizard in D&D 5e and skip all that.

Even with no armour or magic, a D&D 5e Tortle’s hard shell gives them 17 AC. This is equivalent to splint mail or the very best half-plate or studded leather can manage. It’s not the best Armour Class in the game, but it’s permanent and low-effort.

Tortles can take things even further, making them the best Wizard race in D&D 5e for specific builds. Shell Defense lets them duck into their shell to increase their Armour Class to 21. Combine that with another bonus (such as a Cloak of Protection), and you’re almost impervious to harm.

If you want to make your DM scream, try dropping a vicious Concentration spell and then becoming almost impervious to regular attacks with that combination. Note: this doesn’t work against Fireball.

Other Tortle features are also effective for a D&D 5e Wizard. Free skills are always welcome, particularly when they include Intelligence options like Nature. Don’t expect your Claws to be helpful, however.

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Githyanki Are Nearly Unmatched – In One Printing

There are two very different versions of the Githyanki in D&D 5e. Even though Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse is newer, Wizards of the Coast can’t actually stop you from using your old books.

The Githyanki subrace in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes comes with an excellent series of Wizard features.

There is more to building a good Wizard in D&D 5e than boosting their Armour Class, but it never hurts. Medium armour is a significant upgrade from no armour at all. The martial weapons are less likely to be useful, but it’s not impossible.

On top of that, Githyanki gives a free skill of the player’s choice. Wizards should use this to fill any obvious gaps in their or their party’s toolkit.

On top of that, Githyanki Psionics gives a list of spells any Wizard would want to have. Jump is situational, but far from useless. It also gives a buffed version of Mage Hand, one of D&D 5e‘s best cantrips. As I’ve often said, Misty Step is a top-tier D&D 5e spell, all free from this race.

Through its mixture of durability and spellcasting, the original Githyanki takes a clear spot as one of the best races for the Wizard in D&D 5e.

Yuan-Ti Can Cast and Resist Magic

There is more to durability in D&D 5e than just Armor Class. Wizards are expert spellcasters, but they’re not much better at saving throws than other characters.

If a Wizard can’t Counterspell or Dispel Magic a threat, they’re still vulnerable to it. Yuan-Ti is one of the best Wizard races in D&D 5e because of its Magic Resistance.

Advantage on all saving throws against spells is an invaluable effect, one that sets a Yuan-Ti Wizard clearly above many others. In dire circumstances, it can even give them advantage against their own spells should they need to cast with Danger Close.

On top of that, Yuan-Ti gets resistance to one of D&D 5e‘s most common damage types for even more durability.

Furthermore, Yuan-Ti is an excellent Wizard race in D&D 5e because they get bonus spells that can be cast for free or with slots, using their Intelligence.

Poison Spray and snake-influencing Animal Friendship are both situational, but Suggestion is an excellent spell in D&D 5e.

The Yuan-Ti’s ability to resist magic is more impressive than its ability to cast it, but both are invaluable for a D&D 5e Wizard race.

Mountain Dwarf Gets Armour, Stats, and More

The Dwarf doesn’t feel like a natural Wizard race in D&D 5e. Many fantasy works have them unfamiliar with or untrusting of arcane magic, including previous editions of D&D.

Now that racial ability scores are a thing of the past, the Mountain Dwarf stands out as one of D&D 5e‘s best Wizard races. This is because their martial-themed features tend to be redundant on martials while being invaluable for casters.

The Dwarf race in D&D 5e gives many useful features, including resistance to Poison damage and situational Expertise in History checks. Given the Wizard’s high Intelligence, there isn’t going to be anyone better at knowing stuff about caves.

However, the real meat comes from the D&D 5e Mountain Dwarf subrace. This gives free proficiency in light and medium armour. Without much Dexterity, this can easily give 17 AC (or more with magic items).

On top of that, the Mountain Dwarf is the only race to get two +2 increases to ability scores. While one of these is almost certainly bound for Intelligence, the other can provide a substantial hit point boost or raise Dexterity to get the most out of armour.

Fairy Gets Non-Wizard Spells and Flight

Normally, when a D&D 5e Wizard wants to fly, it costs a third-level spell slot, requires Concentration, and lasts an hour. A Fairy gets this for free, with no Concentration, all the time, with a drawback that doesn’t matter to Wizards.

At-will flight is invaluable for overcoming obstacles, avoiding melee enemies, and reaching new angles of attack. A Wizard’s low Armor Class doesn’t matter much if they’re only being targeted by most enemies’ backup ranged attacks.

The only restriction? They can’t wear armour heavier than light, which Wizards don’t get access to and can be compensated for with Mage Armor.

This alone would make the Fairy one of the best Wizard races in D&D 5e. On top of that, however, it gets powerful spellcasting.

Druidcraft is a flexible, not very powerful cantrip, but still great for Wizards. Enlarge/Reduce is a reasonable buff they can learn, but this saves them gold and preparation. Furthermore, a free cast is always nice.

Faerie Fire is the main reason Fairy is one of the best D&D 5e Wizard races. It’s a fantastic support spell that gives allies advantage on attacks against a wide swathe of enemies. It’s also an anti-invisibility tool that is as cheap as it possibly can be. And it can use Intelligence.

These have been seven of the best races for Wizards in D&D 5e. The common themes are spellcasting and Armor Class, but that’s honestly all Wizards need. Please do check out other Artificial Twenty articles, like this one, and share it with your friends. Thank you!

For other D&D 5e race guides, check out our list of the best races for Bards or the best races for Paladins.

Alternatively, if you’re a DM trying to get creative, check out Artificial Twenty’s article on D&D 5e villain motivations here.