Here is the calculation for block cost if you use Infused jewelry with Shield Play enchants:
We have 574 Block Cost with 8 Sturdy, Fortress, 100 Shadow Ward and no Shield Play enchants.
325 is the Infused Shield Play enchant.
[ 1760 - ( 325 * 3 ) ] - ( 0.68 (8 sturdy) * 0.64 (Fortress) * 0.75 (100 Shadow Ward) ) = 256 Stamina per block (574-256 = 318 per second assuming you block once every second)
And this is the no-Infused calculation:
[ 1760 - ( 203 * 3 ) ] - ( 0.68 (8 Sturdy) * 0.64 (Fortress) * 0.75 (100 Shadow Ward) ) = 375 Stamina per block (574-375 = 199 per second assuming you block once every second)
So the difference is about 120 stamina per block. So yeah, it is quite decent .
Infused can also be used with Stamina Cost Reduction.
Assuming you use Pierce Armour and Heroic Slash every 10 seconds , here is the benefit of Stamina cost reduction)
1531 , 2673 , no enchant = 4204
1349 , 2491 , 1 enchant = 3840 > 364 stamina saved every 10 seconds, 36 per second
1166 , 2308 , 2 enchants = 3474 > 730 stamina saved every 10 seconds, 73 per second
983 , 2125 , 3 enchants = 3108 > 1096 stamina saved every 10 seconds, 110 per second
And here is the same thing with Infused jewelry:
1238 , 2380 , 1 enchant = 3618 > 586 Stamina saved every 10 seconds, 58.6 per second
945 , 2088 , 2 enchants = 3033 > 1171 Stamina saved every 10 seconds, 117.1 per second
653 , 1795 , 3 enchants = 2448 > 1756 Stamina saved every 10 seconds, 175.6 per second
Another sustain tool is Harmony.
You can get a shard/orb every 20 seconds, restoring 3960 Stamina.
No Harmony > 3960 / 20 = 198 Stamina per second.
1 Harmony > 5346 / 20 =267 Stamina per second. (69 Stamina per second)
2 Harmony > 6732 / 20 = 337 Stamina per second. (139 Stamina per second)
3 Harmony > 8118 / 20 = 406 stamina per second. (208 Stamina per second)
To sum it up, Shield-Play still rules at sustaining as long as you block once every second but not necessarily when combined with Infused. Using Harmony jewelry combined with Shield-Play will give you better sustain overall. Harmony jewelry added 208 Stamina per second while Infused added only 120. Keep in mind that this calculation assumes that you block once every second. If you block twice or more per second, Infused combined with Shield-Play will outperform everything. If there is no blocking at all, 3 Harmony + 3 Stamina Cost Reduction will give best results. It all depends on content you'll be getting into.