Frontline satyr bard – better to be from Theros or from Thylea?

Question

I plan to make a frontline bard – high AC, mostly melee attacks with a bit of magic (war caster feat), who also has nice social skills. I will take college of valour. We are starting at 1st level and will level from there – I am also thinking to later take a level each of fighter and sorcerer.

I plan on taking a level in fighter for a fighting style (either one-handed or shield style).

As for sorcerer, there is a new subclass in "Odyssey of the Dragonlords" that allows to use charisma modifiers instead of strength for melee attacks.

My Attributes are: Str 13/Dex 15/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 12/Cha 17

Which of Satyr's racial traits synergize better with this kind of play style?

A Thylean Satyr has the following racial traits:

ASI: +2 Dex, +1 Cha

Speed: You base walking speed is 30 feet.

Fey Heritage: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and spells can’t put you to sleep.

Memory for Music: You have proficiency with one instrument of your choice. You have advantage on Performance checks made with the selected instrument. You can also memorize and perform any song after hearing it only once.

Enchanting Music: You can cast the minor illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the sleep spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the suggestion spell with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Casting these spells requires access to an instrument that you are proficient with. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Sources: "Odyssey of the Dragonlords" & "Mythic Odysseys of Theros".

Answer 1

Let's do a side-by-side comparison:

Size

They're both Medium, no points to either side.

Stat bonuses

Theros Satyrs have +1 Dex and +2 Cha, while Thylean Satyrs have +2 Dex and +1 Cha. These stat bonuses are both interchangeable on basically any character, especially if the character is being made with point-buy or the standard array. The only place this could make a difference is on rolled stats where at least one stat is even, but since your Dex and Cha are both odd stats, this is irrelevant. No points for either.

Speed

Satyrs native to Theros have a speed of 35, while those native to Thylea have 30, which is in favor of Theros, but it's a very small movement speed difference, so I'm only going to give it a half point.

Creature type

Theros Satyrs are Fey, while Thylean satyrs are humanoid. This gives Theros satyrs immunity to any [X] Person effect that only targets humanoids (e.g. Hold Person, Charm Person, etc). One point for Theros.

Racial spells

Satyrs from Theros have access to any single cantrip of their choosing from the Bard list. Satyrs from Thylea, on the other hand, are restricted to the cantrip Minor Illusion, but also gain the ability to cast Sleep at level 3, and Suggestion at level 5. This is incredibly strong. Sleep straight up removes enemies from the fight with no save, and Suggestion can do the same if worded correctly. Suffice to say that this is strong enough to give Thylea at least two points.

Fey Heritage vs. Magic Resistance

Magic resistance is strictly better. Having immunity to magical sleep from Fey Ancestry is nice, but sleep magic isn't very common, which leaves us with advantage on saves against all magic vs advantage on saves against being Charmed or Frightened. There are a lot of effects that can Charm or Frighten you, and many of them are non-magical (a dragons aura of terror, for example). On the other hand, there are many more effects that will damage or impair you in some way that aren't Charming or Frightening and are magical. This is a point for Theros without question.

Memory for Music vs. Reveler

These are almost the same trait. Reveler grants you two skill proficiencies, Perform and Persuasion, plus an instrument proficiency. Memory for Music gives you proficiency with an instrument, although instead of proficiency in Perform, it gives you Advantage as long as you are using the selected instrument. I'm not exactly sure what the intent was with that, since if you're using Perform, you aren't applying your proficiency with the instrument to the check, so you either have proficiency or advantage. The ability to remember and play any after only hearing it once is fluff. Honestly, there's so little actual benefit to Memory for Music that it's definitely a point for Theros.

Mirthful Leap vs. ...nothing

Mirthful Leap lets you extend your jump distance by a small amount, which is almost never going to come up. Still, this is an extra ability over what you get from Thylea, and is thus worth at least another half point for Theros.

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Conclusion: Theros is better

Even though satyrs from Thylea have a pair of very good spells available to them, that's really all they have going for them, compared to Theros. Theros beats out Thylea in speed, resistance, and other utilities, but only barely.

Answer 2

If charisma is your attacking stat, then you probably want the standard (Theros) satyr for the +2 Charisma, though if you've rolled an odd number then the +1 is more or less just as good.

Still, from my point of view, the main benefit of the Theros satyr is Magic Resistance. It's hard to argue with just having advantage on all saves against magic.

I've always felt that racial spellcasting is most valuable when you're playing a non-caster class. While having access to a few extra spells that you don't need to spend valuable known-spell slots on is nice, it's just not as big a deal as adding magic to a class that normally has none.