I've never played a 'Spellsword' style in Skyrim, but I'm thinking about branching out into it now with my lvl 14 Imperial warrior.

To avoid confusion, by 'Spellsword' I simply mean a character who uses magic in one hand and a weapon in the other.

It seems many players enjoy this style, but it has always seemed problematic to me. It suffers from one of the drawbacks of dual-wielding in that you can't block. But even with dual-wielding, you could perform an off-hand forward power attack that was guaranteed to stagger an enemy (provided you weren't using a dagger in the off-hand), so there was some more tactical flexibility. With a spell in one hand and a weapon in the other, you're basically limited to dodging, backpedaling, or just standing there and taking damage while you whack at a foe with your sword or blast with a spell.

I'm interested to hear from those of you who like Spellswording, and specifically why you like it. Are there any tactical advantages I might be unaware of? Any particular spell/weapon combos?


Maybe a bit about my current character will help. Any tips welcome.

Race: Imperial
Level: 14
Perks so far-
One-handed: Armsman 1/5, Fighting Stance, Dual Flurry 1/2
Two-handed: Barbarian 1/5 (yeah, I was - and still am - thinking about mixing it up a bit)
Archery: Overdraw 1/5, Eagle Eye
Block: Shield Wall 1/5 (going for Quick Reflexes; nothing else)
Smithing: Steel
Light Armor: Agile Defender 2/5
Sneak: Stealth 1/5, Backstab
Illusion: Novice

Picked up that Illusion perk recently after acquiring a Muffle spelltome and deciding it might be interesting to go this route - sneaky warrior type.

I'm thinking of adding some 'defensive' Destruction spells to this character - maybe Runes (esp. the new ones from DB), Cloaks, that sort of thing - as well as some more typical offensive Destruction spells.