As the best class in the game, Wizard really doesn’t need much help from its subclasses, and you’ll notice that the bonuses provided by these are a bit less impactful on average than the subclasses of something like the Warlock or Ranger.

Wizards are the scientists and nerds of the D&D universe. They take hours pouring over pages of ancient texts and magical accounts of experiments done by other wizards to cultivate and practice spellcasting. In return, they’re gifted with the best suite of spells in the game, a massive pool of spells to prepare and add to their book, and the best form of Ritual Casting in the game. 

The Arcane Tradition of War Magic was created in a world that already saw the consequences of Bladesinger. It took a different approach from the nimble, ludicrously high AC multiattacking martial hybrid, opting instead to deliver a different style of frontline caster whose objective is to be resilient, but not invincible. 

Transmuting one form to another is a deeply magical, yet somewhat mundane thing we’ve been able to achieve visually with chemistry and learning over time. The School of Transmutation runs with these ideas, giving you the tools to take one form of matter and mix it around to another in meaningful and interesting ways.

From magical highschools full of broomstick sports and charms classes to ancient colleges wreathed in mystery, wizardry and study have become intertwined in pop culture. Prior to Order of Scribes, you never really had an option that fully embraced this.

The School of Necromancy is supposed to be Wizard’s best way to become the lich of legend. It's a monstrous archetype, commanding legions of the dead to conquer the world backed by plagues and areas of death and destruction.

Illusions are polarizing. Some tables and players can take them and rule the world early on, with grand plans coming to fruition around false images placed in the right place at the right time. Other tables will find they’re mediocre holograms that are easily disproven and promptly ignored.

Graviturgy Magic expands out the fantasy spells like Magnify Gravity set you up with, really letting your wizard go all in as a master of force. It has abilities that look and feel great to use. Every single option presented has interesting applications in and out of combat, making the whole of the subclass work great throughout entire campaigns. 

Hot take: the School of Evocation is the second worst wizard school, only being beaten out by the School of Necromancy. Most of the option’s power is tied to the  10th and 14th-level features. Up until that point, you’re getting mediocre features that add little to nothing to your sheet.

The School of Enchantment takes a bit to deliver on these fantasies, but when you get to the upper-level features, it delivers on them beautifully. You can be the world’s greatest con artist who nobody can ever seem to remember, you can be a force of personality who mixes words and magic to mitigate disaster.

The School of Divination is all about prophecy; you see into the future, understanding future outcomes and omens that inform you of how to proceed. The tea reader mystic with a smokey crystal ball fits this fantasy, as does a mathematical astronomer, fixated on the sky and reading its changes as predictions for events yet to transpire.

If I were to recommend an Arcane Tradition to a new player, it would be the School of Conjuration. Not only can conjuration spells provide a wide range of abilities that are useful in a variety of circumstances, but this specific subclass is also packed with fun, simple to read yet complex to use features that you can mess around with to get a feel for what D&D is all about.

Mechanically figuring out how to implement temporal magic is a behemoth task, and while it isn’t perfect. Chonurgy Magic takes a stab at the fantasy, and while a lot of the translation in game I find a bit bland, there is enough here to make a chronomancer come to life. 

Bladesinging takes some of Wizard’s most busted 1st level spells and pushes them to their fullest while getting every feature the martial classes are supposed to get to keep up with their caster counterparts. It does everything. It’s insane.

Abjurers are the protector Wizard tradition, packing magic from the Abjuration school to defend themselves and their allies. It's my favorite option as it offers opportunities to build wonky frontline Wizards looking to take advantage of busted spells like Shield and Counterspell while using close-ranged magic or weapons to draw fire and block incoming attacks.