I know that when it comes to 2014 features like Magic Initiate, unless the spell is in your class's spell list, you can only do the free cast of the spell.
But with the 2024 versions of these feats, they pretty much all seem to be reworded and say "You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have."
So I suppose the question here is, is there anything in the 2024 PHB/DMG that would imply one way or the other that you can say... take Magic Initiate (Cleric) on a Wizard and then use your spell slots to cast Cure Wounds, and also potentially upcast to higher levels? Because the feat itself as it is written makes no distinction on which spell slots can be used.
Conversely, some features dont include this text. Warlock has a few Invocations like that. Gift of the Depths, for example, makes no mention of being able to cast Water Breathing with a spell slot. (Yes I know that the wording for most of the invocations makes them at will spells. But that one isnt.)
After reading your question, I went back and reread the description for the Magic Initiate Feat.
To answer your question, yes, per the wording in the description of the Feat, you can upcast the leveled spell you chose. So in your example, yes as long as you had the spell slot available, you could upcast Cure Wounds.
As for your inquiry on why the Warlock Feature; Gift of the Depths doesn't include the same text saying that you can use the spell with any spell slot, well, the spell Water Breathing does not have any affect if it is upcast, so it would be a waste of a higher level spell slot if you still had 3rd level slots available.
Cheers!
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Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
I know that when it comes to 2014 features like Magic Initiate, unless the spell is in your class's spell list, you can only do the free cast of the spell.
But with the 2024 versions of these feats, they pretty much all seem to be reworded and say "You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have."
So I suppose the question here is, is there anything in the 2024 PHB/DMG that would imply one way or the other that you can say... take Magic Initiate (Cleric) on a Wizard and then use your spell slots to cast Cure Wounds, and also potentially upcast to higher levels? Because the feat itself as it is written makes no distinction on which spell slots can be used.
If you're casting using spell slots, the rules for casting using spell slots apply regardless of where the spell originates from. So if you cast Cure Wounds from Magic Initiate (Cleric) as a Wizard using a higher level spell slot, you would apply the rules for upcasting as normal because nothing says or implies you don't.
Conversely, some features dont include this text. Warlock has a few Invocations like that. Gift of the Depths, for example, makes no mention of being able to cast Water Breathing with a spell slot. (Yes I know that the wording for most of the invocations makes them at will spells. But that one isnt.)
It doesn't say you can use spell slots, so you can't use spell slots, so you can't upcast it because that's a feature of casting a spell using spell slots.
Unless the text says otherwise, a spell cast without a spell slot is cast at its lowest possible level, which is the level that appears in its description.
An example of an exception to this is often found in monster stat blocks. A monster with the Spellcasting action may have spells listed with a “(level # version)” parenthetical. This means the spell is still cast without a spell slot, but its effects are equivalent to a version of the spell cast using a spell slot of the specified level.
There's a really simple way to tell if you can cast a spell you get from a feature with your spell slots and thus upcast them.
Features that say you always have a spell prepared allow you to cast the spell using your spell slots.
A feature, like the warlock invocations, that does not say you always have the spell prepared does not allow you to cast the spell with your spell slots.
What you're looking for is if it says you have the spell prepared or not. Having it prepared it the prerequisite for using the spellcasting feature that uses your spell slots. You can find this rule in chapter 7 spells. Using spell slots is how you can upcast. Hope this clears things up.
Well then the next question becomes why doesn't DDB allow this then?
If you take magic initiate (cleric) on any class other than cleric you only are given the initial free cast of the spell. The only time you're given the ability to use a spell slot or upcast the spell is if you're a cleric
That's a DnD beyond issue. My guess is that they haven't coded magic initiative to prepare the spell only the free use of it. The DnD beyond character sheet is currently unable to accurately follow the rules for some interactions which is rather silly since it's the software created by the developers. This is one example, agonizing blast and repelling blast, and the spell section for shadow and fey touched are other examples where DnD beyond doesn't function properly.
There's a really simple way to tell if you can cast a spell you get from a feature with your spell slots and thus upcast them.
Features that say you always have a spell prepared allow you to cast the spell using your spell slots.
A feature, like the warlock invocations, that does not say you always have the spell prepared does not allow you to cast the spell with your spell slots.
What you're looking for is if it says you have the spell prepared or not. Having it prepared it the prerequisite for using the spellcasting feature that uses your spell slots. You can find this rule in chapter 7 spells. Using spell slots is how you can upcast. Hope this clears things up.
Technically this isn't quite correct. Being always prepared is not enough to be able to cast a spell with a Spellcasting Feature. For that, the spell must also be or at least "count as" the correct type of spell. For example, if you are a cleric, you can only use your Cleric Spellcasting Feature to cast prepared Cleric spells. If you learned a Wizard spell via Magic Initiate, you may not cast that spell with your Cleric Spellcasting Feature.
Instead, you cast it in the manner that is explicitly allowed by the Feat.
There's a really simple way to tell if you can cast a spell you get from a feature with your spell slots and thus upcast them.
Features that say you always have a spell prepared allow you to cast the spell using your spell slots.
A feature, like the warlock invocations, that does not say you always have the spell prepared does not allow you to cast the spell with your spell slots.
What you're looking for is if it says you have the spell prepared or not. Having it prepared it the prerequisite for using the spellcasting feature that uses your spell slots. You can find this rule in chapter 7 spells. Using spell slots is how you can upcast. Hope this clears things up.
Technically this isn't quite correct. Being always prepared is not enough to be able to cast a spell with a Spellcasting Feature. For that, the spell must also be or at least "count as" the correct type of spell. For example, if you are a cleric, you can only use your Cleric Spellcasting Feature to cast prepared Cleric spells. If you learned a Wizard spell via Magic Initiate, you may not cast that spell with your Cleric Spellcasting Feature.
Instead, you cast it in the manner that is explicitly allowed by the Feat.
Not sure where you got that idea from. The feat says otherwise.
Level 1 Spell.Choose a level 1 spell from the same list you selected for this feat’s cantrips. You always have that spell prepared. You can cast it once without a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast it in that way when you finish a Long Rest. You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have.
The DnD beyond character sheet is currently unable to accurately follow the rules for some interactions which is rather silly since it's the software created by the developers.
Just to clarify, D&D Beyond was not created by software developers from WotC. When D&D Beyond was first created it was done so by a company called Curse, owned by Amazon. They were later bought out by Fandom, and then by WotC. Through these ownership changes the dev teams have changed. The most notable being the lead developer, Adam Bradford, who left, with some others, and created a similar platform, Demiplane, for other TTRPG systems like Pathfinder and Daggerheart. Demiplane has since been bought out by Roll20 but I believe Adam is still with them.
I am not certain the exact numbers of how many of the original dev teams remain, if any. Nevertheless this site was not created by WotC and not all (or many, or any ?) of the original creators remain. The new devs are working with a system they did not create and was not future-proof for the ever-changing and expanding D&D content.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
There's a really simple way to tell if you can cast a spell you get from a feature with your spell slots and thus upcast them.
Features that say you always have a spell prepared allow you to cast the spell using your spell slots.
A feature, like the warlock invocations, that does not say you always have the spell prepared does not allow you to cast the spell with your spell slots.
What you're looking for is if it says you have the spell prepared or not. Having it prepared it the prerequisite for using the spellcasting feature that uses your spell slots. You can find this rule in chapter 7 spells. Using spell slots is how you can upcast. Hope this clears things up.
Technically this isn't quite correct. Being always prepared is not enough to be able to cast a spell with a Spellcasting Feature. For that, the spell must also be or at least "count as" the correct type of spell. For example, if you are a cleric, you can only use your Cleric Spellcasting Feature to cast prepared Cleric spells. If you learned a Wizard spell via Magic Initiate, you may not cast that spell with your Cleric Spellcasting Feature.
Instead, you cast it in the manner that is explicitly allowed by the Feat.
Not sure where you got that idea from. The feat says otherwise.
Level 1 Spell.Choose a level 1 spell from the same list you selected for this feat’s cantrips. You always have that spell prepared. You can cast it once without a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast it in that way when you finish a Long Rest. You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have.
The idea comes from all of the written rules for every class that has a Spellcasting class feature as well as the general principle that game features do what they say.
As I said, the reason why you can cast the spell using your spell slots is because the Feat itself explicitly says that you can, NOT because you are using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. In fact, you are not using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. Instead, you are casting the spell by using the rules that are provided by your Feat, which is an entirely separate game feature.
As I said, the reason why you can cast the spell using your spell slots is because the Feat itself explicitly says that you can, NOT because you are using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. In fact, you are not using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. Instead, you are casting the spell by using the rules that are provided by your Feat, which is an entirely separate game feature.
Seems unnecessarily nitpicky or pedantic given it's not possible to have spell slots without a spellcasting (or pact magic) feature. The spellcasting/pact magic feature is what provides the spell slots. There is no way to use the whole casting " with any spell slots you have" option from the feat unless you are a spellcaster with spellcasting/pact magic.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
As I said, the reason why you can cast the spell using your spell slots is because the Feat itself explicitly says that you can, NOT because you are using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. In fact, you are not using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. Instead, you are casting the spell by using the rules that are provided by your Feat, which is an entirely separate game feature.
Seems unnecessarily nitpicky or pedantic given it's not possible to have spell slots without a spellcasting (or pact magic) feature. The spellcasting/pact magic feature is what provides the spell slots. There is no way to use the whole casting " with any spell slots you have" option from the feat unless you are a spellcaster with spellcasting/pact magic.
It's true that it might seem pedantic in this thread since the end result for the OP is the same -- a Magic Initiate spell can indeed be upcast. But then some ensuing discussion began regarding the how -- mechanically, how does it work. It seemed appropriate to clarify how it actually works because it does become important in other spellcasting discussions when certain features may or may not interact in a certain way, and so on.
To summarize, the Cleric Spellcasting feature gives the character the ability to cast Cleric spells. It also gives the character the ability to "prepare the list of level 1+ spells that are available for you to cast with this feature . . . from the Cleric spell list". It then designates the Spellcasting Ability and type of Spellcasting Focus that is used to cast Cleric spells with this Cleric Spellcasting Feature.
The spell slots, on the other hand, are listed in the Cleric Features table as a resource that the Cleric Spellcasting feature uses. The feature does not mention that these must be used only for Cleric spells or that one can only access these spell slots by using the Cleric Spellcasting feature. However, even if it did say these things, the Magic Initiate Feat explicitly overrides any such restriction by stating that the spell learned from that feat can be cast using any of your spell slots. But when you do so, that spell (a Wizard spell, for example) is being cast by using the Feat, not by using the Cleric Spellcasting feature.
As even more of an aside, the reason why we often see game features explicitly mention that the spell is "always prepared" and whether or not spell slots are required is precisely because the character will NOT be using its class's Spellcasting feature to cast the spell. Because of that, the game feature must make it clear how its own rules are conforming to the general rules of spellcasting such as the rule that "Before you can cast a spell, you must have the spell prepared in your mind" as well as the general spell slot rules. If it was assumed that the class's Spellcasting Feature was being used to cast the spell in question, then the game feature wouldn't have to mention such things since the Spellcasting Feature already has all of this written within its own rules. In such cases, the thing to look for is if the game feature makes it so that the spell "counts as" a [Class] spell for you, because that's what lets you use the class's Spellcasting Feature to prepare and cast the spell.
But again, these details aren't particularly important to be able to answer the OP's question of this thread so hopefully enough has been said on this matter now.
Well then the next question becomes why doesn't DDB allow this then?
If you take magic initiate (cleric) on any class other than cleric you only are given the initial free cast of the spell. The only time you're given the ability to use a spell slot or upcast the spell is if you're a cleric
DDB did allow this, by listing such spells in the spell slot section so casting them that way deducted spell slots. But the community feedback on this feature was negative enough for the team to disable this. Instead when you cast a spell using a spell slot, you must check off the spell slot manually.
The DnD beyond character sheet is currently unable to accurately follow the rules for some interactions which is rather silly since it's the software created by the developers.
Just to clarify, D&D Beyond was not created by software developers from WotC. When D&D Beyond was first created it was done so by a company called Curse, owned by Amazon. They were later bought out by Fandom, and then by WotC. Through these ownership changes the dev teams have changed. The most notable being the lead developer, Adam Bradford, who left, with some others, and created a similar platform, Demiplane, for other TTRPG systems like Pathfinder and Daggerheart. Demiplane has since been bought out by Roll20 but I believe Adam is still with them.
I am not certain the exact numbers of how many of the original dev teams remain, if any. Nevertheless this site was not created by WotC and not all (or many, or any ?) of the original creators remain. The new devs are working with a system they did not create and was not future-proof for the ever-changing and expanding D&D content.
This is unnecessarily pedantic. It doesn't matter if Wotc wrote the code. Wotc has run DnD beyond for quite a while and it doesn't accurately portray their own rules.
The DnD beyond character sheet is currently unable to accurately follow the rules for some interactions which is rather silly since it's the software created by the developers.
Just to clarify, D&D Beyond was not created by software developers from WotC. When D&D Beyond was first created it was done so by a company called Curse, owned by Amazon. They were later bought out by Fandom, and then by WotC. Through these ownership changes the dev teams have changed. The most notable being the lead developer, Adam Bradford, who left, with some others, and created a similar platform, Demiplane, for other TTRPG systems like Pathfinder and Daggerheart. Demiplane has since been bought out by Roll20 but I believe Adam is still with them.
I am not certain the exact numbers of how many of the original dev teams remain, if any. Nevertheless this site was not created by WotC and not all (or many, or any ?) of the original creators remain. The new devs are working with a system they did not create and was not future-proof for the ever-changing and expanding D&D content.
This is unnecessarily pedantic. It doesn't matter if Wotc wrote the code. Wotc has run DnD beyond for quite a while and it doesn't accurately portray their own rules.
You said "it's the software created by the developers" which is factually incorrect. The software was not created by the developers of D&D, it was created by a team outside WotC and then acquired by WotC. This means that there's a legacy codebase they inherited which means (as is the case with every legacy codebase everywhere) there are likely aspects of the codebase that cannot be changed without:
High risk of breaking the site
Rebuilding the codebase from the ground up, thus negating the point of acquiring it in the first place
Taking down the site for financially inviable lengths of time
Forcing a non-zero amount of users to rebuild their characters
Some combination of the above
So it doesn't seem like pedanticism, but a valid and pertinent correction of your incorrect statement, especially as far as the topic of this thread goes.
The DnD beyond character sheet is currently unable to accurately follow the rules for some interactions which is rather silly since it's the software created by the developers.
Just to clarify, D&D Beyond was not created by software developers from WotC. When D&D Beyond was first created it was done so by a company called Curse, owned by Amazon. They were later bought out by Fandom, and then by WotC. Through these ownership changes the dev teams have changed. The most notable being the lead developer, Adam Bradford, who left, with some others, and created a similar platform, Demiplane, for other TTRPG systems like Pathfinder and Daggerheart. Demiplane has since been bought out by Roll20 but I believe Adam is still with them.
I am not certain the exact numbers of how many of the original dev teams remain, if any. Nevertheless this site was not created by WotC and not all (or many, or any ?) of the original creators remain. The new devs are working with a system they did not create and was not future-proof for the ever-changing and expanding D&D content.
This is unnecessarily pedantic. It doesn't matter if Wotc wrote the code. Wotc has run DnD beyond for quite a while and it doesn't accurately portray their own rules.
You said "it's the software created by the developers" which is factually incorrect. The software was not created by the developers of D&D, it was created by a team outside WotC and then acquired by WotC. This means that there's a legacy codebase they inherited which means (as is the case with every legacy codebase everywhere) there are likely aspects of the codebase that cannot be changed without:
High risk of breaking the site
Rebuilding the codebase from the ground up, thus negating the point of acquiring it in the first place
Taking down the site for financially inviable lengths of time
Forcing a non-zero amount of users to rebuild their characters
Some combination of the above
So it doesn't seem like pedanticism, but a valid and pertinent correction of your incorrect statement, especially as far as the topic of this thread goes.
No sense in arguing with someone who is being unnecessarily contrary. WotC has had control of the DnD Beyond since May 2022. They've had control since before the rules in question were released. They've coded other features to have spells automatically prepared, including other feats. Even with my neophyte experience in coding it's pretty simple to reference a selection from a drop-down. If they have the code to always prepare spell like with a racial feature it should be simple to link the drop-down selection to the correct spell for the existing code to always prepare a spell. It's clearly a DnD Beyond issue that shouldn't exist.
Regardless of all of this, it doesn't seem like Magic Initiate was EVER coded correctly on DDB.
2014 or 2024.
I just created a homebrew copy of Cure Wounds and added it to the Cleric and the Wizard spell list.
Then I tried taking each version of the Magic Initiate (Cleric) feat.
Neither version of the feat allows the spell to be used with slots. 2014 should allow it because it's also a Wizard spell. 2024 should allow it regardless of class.
Both feats only give you the single use the spell.
Even if, as a Wizard, you take Magic Initiate (Wizard), both versions of the feat still only gives you the single use of the spell.
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I know that when it comes to 2014 features like Magic Initiate, unless the spell is in your class's spell list, you can only do the free cast of the spell.
But with the 2024 versions of these feats, they pretty much all seem to be reworded and say "You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have."
So I suppose the question here is, is there anything in the 2024 PHB/DMG that would imply one way or the other that you can say... take Magic Initiate (Cleric) on a Wizard and then use your spell slots to cast Cure Wounds, and also potentially upcast to higher levels? Because the feat itself as it is written makes no distinction on which spell slots can be used.
Conversely, some features dont include this text. Warlock has a few Invocations like that. Gift of the Depths, for example, makes no mention of being able to cast Water Breathing with a spell slot. (Yes I know that the wording for most of the invocations makes them at will spells. But that one isnt.)
So... is there any clarity to be found?
Greetings KinoGeno,
After reading your question, I went back and reread the description for the Magic Initiate Feat.
To answer your question, yes, per the wording in the description of the Feat, you can upcast the leveled spell you chose.
So in your example, yes as long as you had the spell slot available, you could upcast Cure Wounds.
As for your inquiry on why the Warlock Feature; Gift of the Depths doesn't include the same text saying that you can use the spell with any spell slot, well, the spell Water Breathing does not have any affect if it is upcast, so it would be a waste of a higher level spell slot if you still had 3rd level slots available.
Cheers!
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
If you're casting using spell slots, the rules for casting using spell slots apply regardless of where the spell originates from. So if you cast Cure Wounds from Magic Initiate (Cleric) as a Wizard using a higher level spell slot, you would apply the rules for upcasting as normal because nothing says or implies you don't.
It doesn't say you can use spell slots, so you can't use spell slots, so you can't upcast it because that's a feature of casting a spell using spell slots.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
We also have this explanation in the SAC:
There's a really simple way to tell if you can cast a spell you get from a feature with your spell slots and thus upcast them.
Features that say you always have a spell prepared allow you to cast the spell using your spell slots.
A feature, like the warlock invocations, that does not say you always have the spell prepared does not allow you to cast the spell with your spell slots.
What you're looking for is if it says you have the spell prepared or not. Having it prepared it the prerequisite for using the spellcasting feature that uses your spell slots. You can find this rule in chapter 7 spells. Using spell slots is how you can upcast. Hope this clears things up.
Well then the next question becomes why doesn't DDB allow this then?
If you take magic initiate (cleric) on any class other than cleric you only are given the initial free cast of the spell. The only time you're given the ability to use a spell slot or upcast the spell is if you're a cleric
That's a DnD beyond issue. My guess is that they haven't coded magic initiative to prepare the spell only the free use of it. The DnD beyond character sheet is currently unable to accurately follow the rules for some interactions which is rather silly since it's the software created by the developers. This is one example, agonizing blast and repelling blast, and the spell section for shadow and fey touched are other examples where DnD beyond doesn't function properly.
Technically this isn't quite correct. Being always prepared is not enough to be able to cast a spell with a Spellcasting Feature. For that, the spell must also be or at least "count as" the correct type of spell. For example, if you are a cleric, you can only use your Cleric Spellcasting Feature to cast prepared Cleric spells. If you learned a Wizard spell via Magic Initiate, you may not cast that spell with your Cleric Spellcasting Feature.
Instead, you cast it in the manner that is explicitly allowed by the Feat.
Not sure where you got that idea from. The feat says otherwise.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Just to clarify, D&D Beyond was not created by software developers from WotC. When D&D Beyond was first created it was done so by a company called Curse, owned by Amazon. They were later bought out by Fandom, and then by WotC. Through these ownership changes the dev teams have changed. The most notable being the lead developer, Adam Bradford, who left, with some others, and created a similar platform, Demiplane, for other TTRPG systems like Pathfinder and Daggerheart. Demiplane has since been bought out by Roll20 but I believe Adam is still with them.
I am not certain the exact numbers of how many of the original dev teams remain, if any. Nevertheless this site was not created by WotC and not all (or many, or any ?) of the original creators remain. The new devs are working with a system they did not create and was not future-proof for the ever-changing and expanding D&D content.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
The idea comes from all of the written rules for every class that has a Spellcasting class feature as well as the general principle that game features do what they say.
As I said, the reason why you can cast the spell using your spell slots is because the Feat itself explicitly says that you can, NOT because you are using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. In fact, you are not using your Spellcasting class feature to cast the spell. Instead, you are casting the spell by using the rules that are provided by your Feat, which is an entirely separate game feature.
Seems unnecessarily nitpicky or pedantic given it's not possible to have spell slots without a spellcasting (or pact magic) feature. The spellcasting/pact magic feature is what provides the spell slots. There is no way to use the whole casting " with any spell slots you have" option from the feat unless you are a spellcaster with spellcasting/pact magic.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
It's true that it might seem pedantic in this thread since the end result for the OP is the same -- a Magic Initiate spell can indeed be upcast. But then some ensuing discussion began regarding the how -- mechanically, how does it work. It seemed appropriate to clarify how it actually works because it does become important in other spellcasting discussions when certain features may or may not interact in a certain way, and so on.
To summarize, the Cleric Spellcasting feature gives the character the ability to cast Cleric spells. It also gives the character the ability to "prepare the list of level 1+ spells that are available for you to cast with this feature . . . from the Cleric spell list". It then designates the Spellcasting Ability and type of Spellcasting Focus that is used to cast Cleric spells with this Cleric Spellcasting Feature.
The spell slots, on the other hand, are listed in the Cleric Features table as a resource that the Cleric Spellcasting feature uses. The feature does not mention that these must be used only for Cleric spells or that one can only access these spell slots by using the Cleric Spellcasting feature. However, even if it did say these things, the Magic Initiate Feat explicitly overrides any such restriction by stating that the spell learned from that feat can be cast using any of your spell slots. But when you do so, that spell (a Wizard spell, for example) is being cast by using the Feat, not by using the Cleric Spellcasting feature.
As even more of an aside, the reason why we often see game features explicitly mention that the spell is "always prepared" and whether or not spell slots are required is precisely because the character will NOT be using its class's Spellcasting feature to cast the spell. Because of that, the game feature must make it clear how its own rules are conforming to the general rules of spellcasting such as the rule that "Before you can cast a spell, you must have the spell prepared in your mind" as well as the general spell slot rules. If it was assumed that the class's Spellcasting Feature was being used to cast the spell in question, then the game feature wouldn't have to mention such things since the Spellcasting Feature already has all of this written within its own rules. In such cases, the thing to look for is if the game feature makes it so that the spell "counts as" a [Class] spell for you, because that's what lets you use the class's Spellcasting Feature to prepare and cast the spell.
But again, these details aren't particularly important to be able to answer the OP's question of this thread so hopefully enough has been said on this matter now.
DDB did allow this, by listing such spells in the spell slot section so casting them that way deducted spell slots. But the community feedback on this feature was negative enough for the team to disable this. Instead when you cast a spell using a spell slot, you must check off the spell slot manually.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
This is unnecessarily pedantic. It doesn't matter if Wotc wrote the code. Wotc has run DnD beyond for quite a while and it doesn't accurately portray their own rules.
You said "it's the software created by the developers" which is factually incorrect. The software was not created by the developers of D&D, it was created by a team outside WotC and then acquired by WotC. This means that there's a legacy codebase they inherited which means (as is the case with every legacy codebase everywhere) there are likely aspects of the codebase that cannot be changed without:
So it doesn't seem like pedanticism, but a valid and pertinent correction of your incorrect statement, especially as far as the topic of this thread goes.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
No sense in arguing with someone who is being unnecessarily contrary. WotC has had control of the DnD Beyond since May 2022. They've had control since before the rules in question were released. They've coded other features to have spells automatically prepared, including other feats. Even with my neophyte experience in coding it's pretty simple to reference a selection from a drop-down. If they have the code to always prepare spell like with a racial feature it should be simple to link the drop-down selection to the correct spell for the existing code to always prepare a spell. It's clearly a DnD Beyond issue that shouldn't exist.
Regardless of all of this, it doesn't seem like Magic Initiate was EVER coded correctly on DDB.
2014 or 2024.
I just created a homebrew copy of Cure Wounds and added it to the Cleric and the Wizard spell list.
Then I tried taking each version of the Magic Initiate (Cleric) feat.
Neither version of the feat allows the spell to be used with slots. 2014 should allow it because it's also a Wizard spell. 2024 should allow it regardless of class.
Both feats only give you the single use the spell.
Even if, as a Wizard, you take Magic Initiate (Wizard), both versions of the feat still only gives you the single use of the spell.