Hey guys.
Wanna roll up a new char w 20 pt buy.
Now I rarely play straight fighters, mostly cause I like magic.
Buuut the whole 1 weapon and canny defense thing is something I have never tried.
Not sure about going with a Crane Style Fighter Archetype/Duelist or Just going with straight Kensai magus Build.
Never played either.
Duelist will be crazy defense low damage. Kensai just the opposite. If you are magic oriented, I say do the Kensai
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pr5x?Swordlord-help-build-advice-and-critique
This is my take on it. I recently posted this and got some feedback, including an all-dex take on the build. I prefer the STR-based one that I posted.
Dex focused Kensai can get pretty high AC. Between dex, int, shield and mage armor (via spell blending arcana) that part of defense is fine. Add spells like blur and mirror image.
The moonlight stalker feat can turn blur into a +2 to hit & damage buff that stacks with everything, but it is a bit expensive to get, requiring darkvision or low light vision, blind fight and combat expertise. Combat expertise is not a good option, but with arcane accuracy arcana, it is better for the Magus than for most others. Blind fight is useful, if situational. Once you have combat expertise, you might as well invest in improved trip or improved disarm, since you can get an impressive maneuver bonus for one maneuver using true strike.
Finally, a Kensai is better off focusing on buffing, since your diminished spellcasting will make it more difficult to blast out one direct damage touch spell per round. Spells like frostbite, which allow for several touch attacks also helps in this regard.
Interestingly, it appears that you can get all of crane style by dipping two levels in Master of Many Styles monk. Just get crane style through a level feat, and use the class bonus feats to get crane wing and riposte. This means that you could make yourself near untouchable in melee at level 1-2. Maybe take a couple levels of fight in order to get decent armor/weapon (MoMS, especially a dip, has few monk elements which would restrict you into the 'normal' no armor/high WIS build) and grab a few of the necessary feats: dodge, weapon finesse, and combat reflexes. then just grab the monk dip at levels 3-4 and you will be golden.
This might work better on a duelist build since you would end up delaying your spells on a magus. While going for a 3/4 BAB class prior to duelist would delay your entry into the prestige class, you would already be using its play style anyway, so it is no major problem.
Of course, another option might be just to stick with the MoMS/fighter, using the crane style feats to get the general feel you want. Since they provide such a tight defense, you could easily make a build focused on damage by getting a high strength.
You can also combine Crane Style with Tiger Style. In particular, a two level MoMS dip can get you both Crane Riposte and Tiger Pounce, which let's you shift the penalty from Power Attack to AC, which is compensated by Crane Wing.
This is compatible with both a Dex and a Str focus, just remember to use a one handed weapon for your ripostes, which you two-hand while attacking regularly. This makes a fighter almost as powerful a melee combatant as a barbarian.