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This came up last night in our D&D session.

Situation: A wizard cast Evard's Black Tentacles; another creature fails its Dexterity save and is restrained by the tentacles. This spell requires concentration.

While maintaining concentration, the wizard casts Wall of Fire on a good chunk of enemies. This spell also requires concentration.

Are the enemies still "restrained" by Evard's Black Tentacles when the Wall of Fire is initially cast, and do they have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws against the Wall of Fire? Or does casting the spell immediately end the Evard's Black Tentacles spell, giving the creatures enough time that they are not restrained and thus they do not roll the Dexterity save at disadvantage?

Both of these spells require concentration so they cannot both be active at the same time.

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A spell ends when you lose concentration:

Some spells require you to maintain concentration in order to keep their magic active. If you lose concentration, such a spell ends. Phb 203, emphasis mine.

So if you lose concentration the spell ends, no conditional time given. And we can also see what breaks concentration on the same page:

You lose concentration on a spell if you cast another spell that requires concentration. You can’t concentrate on two spells at once. Ibidem, emphasis mine.

My interpretation of this is that both spell effects can't be active at the same time, thus the enemies won't be restrained.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This question is now explicitly addressed in the latest Sage Advice Compendium: "If I’m concentrating on a spell and I cast another spell that requires concentration, when does my concentration on the first spell end? If you’re concentrating on a spell, your concentration on it ends immediately when you start casting another spell that requires concentration." You may want to update your answer accordingly. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Commented Oct 5, 2020 at 5:00
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The first concentration spell ends as soon as you start casting the new one

Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 5) has explicitly clarified this in the time since the PHB was released, in the "Concentration" entry from the list of 10 rules from the corebooks to remember:

As soon as you start casting a spell or using a special ability that requires concentration, your concentration on another effect ends instantly.

So, in your example case, Evard's black tentacles ends as soon as you start casting wall of fire, with no lingering effects from the first spell.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This question is now explicitly addressed in the latest Sage Advice Compendium: "If I’m concentrating on a spell and I cast another spell that requires concentration, when does my concentration on the first spell end? If you’re concentrating on a spell, your concentration on it ends immediately when you start casting another spell that requires concentration." You may want to add this to support your answer as well. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Commented Oct 5, 2020 at 5:01
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They wouldn't still be restrained

The PHB states that when concentration on a spell ends, its effects end as well, so the enemies would no longer be restrained by Evards Black Tentacles when the wizard cast Wall of Fire.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This question is now explicitly addressed in the latest Sage Advice Compendium: "If I’m concentrating on a spell and I cast another spell that requires concentration, when does my concentration on the first spell end? If you’re concentrating on a spell, your concentration on it ends immediately when you start casting another spell that requires concentration." You may want to update your answer accordingly. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Commented Oct 5, 2020 at 5:01

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