Stoneskin for Scholars, is it necessary?

[Gilcris]

Indeed. And if you can get away without stoneskin, you should be able to get away without swiftcast. What's the point, you have Lustrate right ?

Are either necessary? For most content, you can probably get by without... But with that said, the difference is that Swiftcast is a versatile ability that most people would consider "Must Have" and could turn the tide of any battle in which a person makes a mistake (or we make a mistake letting a faerie die), whereas SCH Stoneskin is an ability that will never mean the difference between success or failure.