How does the UA Artificer's Arcane Armament feature interact with the Artillerist subclass's Wand Prototype feature?

Question

The revised Artificer in Unearthed Arcana gets extra attack from its Arcane Armament feature (pg 5):

Starting at 5th level, you can attack twice, rather than once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn, but one of the attacks must be made with a magic weapon, the magic of which you use to propel the attack.

The Artillerist subclass allows the Artificer to apply a cantrip to a wand through the Wand Prototype feature (pg 8):

By 6th level, you now regularly experiment with channeling different types of magic through wands. Whenever you finish a long rest and your woodcarver’s tools are with you, you can touch a nonmagical, wooden wand and turn it into a magic item. When you do so, you invest it with one artificer cantrip of your choice—even one you don’t know—that has a casting time of 1 action. As an action, you can cause the magic wand to produce the cantrip, using your spellcasting ability modifier (other creatures are unable to use the wand’s magic). The wand loses this magic when you finish your next long rest.

Any damage roll you make for a cantrip in the wand gains a bonus equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1).

When you reach 14th level in this class, you can invest the wand with two cantrips at the end of a long rest.

How does Arcane Armament interact with the Artillerist Artificer's Wand Prototype feature? Can you attack twice with the wand cantrip?

Answer 1

You cannot use the wand more than once per turn with these two features

Using a wand is a special action defined by the wand's description. The prototype wand says:

As an action, you can cause the magic wand to produce the cantrip [...]

You cannot produce a cantrip from a wand with the Attack action.

When you take the Attack action, Arcane Armament allows you to attack two times in that one action. Attack meaning to attempt to hit something with a weapon. But you cannot replace an attack with another action. And using the wand to produce a cantrip is not considered, in and of itself, to be an attack. Cantrips may have attacks as part of their effects, but producing a cantrip is not itself an attack.

When you produce a cantrip from the wand you have to use your full action to do so, which means normally giving up the option to Attack.

So, you cannot take an attack given to you by the Attack action and use it to use the wand to produce a cantrip.

Answer 2

Firstly

Attack action is the same of Offesive acction not Attack.

Another point is related to the wand mechanics

For example, the barbarian class is not able to cast magic and don't have slots. If a Barbarian use a Wand of magic detection (no attunement restriction), but when he uses a wand, it spends a charge to cast the magic. the magic is performed by the wand not the barbarian.

what trying to say is:

you get the bow, put an arrow and use the bow to fire the arrow.

this case is the same as a fire gun, the weapon who shots the bullet

but you guys describe the wand usage as:

you hold a bow and an arrow, and with your own hands you throw the arrow.

this case only happens when you spends your own magic slots. here the wand is just a material that helps you to perform magic.

a good point is wand are special itens.

Wand

An arcane focus is a Special item designed to channel the power of arcane Spells. A Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard can use such an item as a Spellcasting focus, using it in place of any material component which does not list a cost.

So this means: https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/1056958922878111744

D&D is a game of exceptions; an attack can be special and not fall into either category: weapon or spell. The rules tell you if an exception is happening. For example, the grapple described on p. 195 of the PH is called a special melee attack, not a weapon/spell attack. #DnD

if my interpretation is wrong please clarify me.

Answer 3

Well... Of course you can use an wand more than once. Wands are like fire guns, the difference is the attack action produce a magic attack, you trigger the weapon and the weapon fires magic.

look wand have charges like guns and D&D 5e doesn't have a skill for Use Magic Device, so as long as an item doesn't have an attunement restriction, anyone can use it.

Wand Prototype feature

Basically you are activating the wand and giving 2 shots at same time, since you put the same command word to trigger the wand both cantrips there is no problem. so even if your DM ask to you perform an attack twice you can do.

Magic Items rules

The trigger

A Command word is a word or phrase that must be spoken for an item to work. A magic item that requires a Command word can’t be activated in an area where sound is prevented, as in the area of the Silence spell.

Spells

Some Magic Items allow the user to Cast a Spell from the item, this means isn't you casting spell is the ITEM, is the same thing of shooting with a fire gun, is not you firing a bullet with your black powder fart, is the gun.

Check this Does casting a spell from an item allow you to apply class abilities that are used when casting a spell?

On the other hand, if you are casting from an item that does not use the user's spellcasting ability (such as most wands), we are treating it as if the spell is essentially stored in the item "pre-formed" (with a fixed DC, shape, etc.) and can't be modified, and thus (contrary to what is written) the user isn't really casting the spell for the purpose of using/triggering special spellcasting abilities (but rather it was the creator of the item who had cast the spell, and the user is just commanding it to go off at a selected time). Thus, the user's special spellcasting abilities cannot be used.

Now make your DM cry as a baby