Phantom Blade. Ecto was their first try, PB does it better.
In particular an Ecto gets reach - eventually a lot of reach, true. A PB gets bonus feats (counting as full BAB for prereqs), the ability to give their blade abilities like keen (useful with spellstrike), merciful, shock or later holy, & the ability to center themselves for thought components as a swift action.
Just like the title says, which is the better Spiritualist archetype for a combat oriented character?
My preference would be Ectoplasmatist. It's gaining reach, offering 2 light weapons, 1 one handed or one two handed allows any kind of attack style you wish and Ectoplasmic Armor.
With Spiritual Combat, you can use reach to avoid "The DC for any concentration check for a spell with a thought component increases by 10" which is the biggest boon to picking this archetype. In addition, they can wear a heavy shield and wield it during spiritual combat further improving it's AC.
Phantom Blade is likely better. But I also like Ecto more. The problem is that Ecto makes you want to multiclass with URogue to get Dex to damage. That isn't such a good thing for a caster but it really rounds out the build. It also delays the cool things that Ecto gets, though, and those cool things are set for coming in when they are most useful.
Couldn't Phantom Blade be used to make an archer?
Nope. No ranged spellstrike, and it uses Black Blade rules for its bonded weapon, which means no ranged weapons can be created.
To answer the OP, probably the Phantom Blade. Of course, I think grabbing a sword out of hammerspace is way more awesome than making your hands goopy, so I could be biased.
The problem is that Ecto makes you want to multiclass with URogue to get Dex to damage.
I agree that it's BEGGING for 3 levels of URogue. Makes me want to gestalt...
You can use slashing grace + Two-Weapon Grace but that's a pile of feats [5 total]... Of course you could multiclass into something that grants bonus combat feats but that runs into the same issues as the URogue.
I'm playing an ectoplasmatist currently and it's level 4 in PFS. It's better for the casting side of things...sort of. At level 4, you have reach, but attacking or casting at that reach range will still provoke. This means you have to make creative use of cover to avoid AoOs until 8, when you get 15' reach and become ridiculous. It's my impression that the ectoplasmatist is the slower ramp up of the two, but you end up long term in a better place. You hit a sweet spot from 8+, though, so in PFS, it's hard to justify it as better from a melee perspective.
I think that the Phantom Blade is better from 4-7, but I don't consider it playable until 4, when you can finally spend your swift action to actually use spell combat. I think it's outright weaker than ectoplastmist after that window, though.
I'm pretty sure you can make the Phantom Weapon be a bow, since it says you choose any weapon the character is proficient in. But you are correct that since it calls out the magus abilities you cannot use Spellstrike through a bow.
Nor could you use spell combat with it. I guess you could use a phantom blade as a thrown weapon as part of spell combat, or even a one-handed firearm if you got proficiency.
I'm pretty sure you can make the Phantom Weapon be a bow, since it says you choose any weapon the character is proficient in. But you are correct that since it calls out the magus abilities you cannot use Spellstrike through a bow.Nor could you use spell combat with it. I guess you could use a phantom blade as a thrown weapon as part of spell combat, or even a one-handed firearm if you got proficiency.
What if you multiclass with Eldritch Archer? I wonder...
What if you multiclass with Eldritch Archer? I wonder...I'm pretty sure you can make the Phantom Weapon be a bow, since it says you choose any weapon the character is proficient in. But you are correct that since it calls out the magus abilities you cannot use Spellstrike through a bow.Nor could you use spell combat with it. I guess you could use a phantom blade as a thrown weapon as part of spell combat, or even a one-handed firearm if you got proficiency.
Then you'd have one sort of spell combat which works with magus spells & and a bow, and one with spiritualist spells which doesn't. Unless you took 6 magus levels and broad study.
Spell Combat does say it has to be a Magus spell. However, I would like to point out that nowhere in the Magus' Spellstrike does it say that it has to be a Magus spell. Using Magus' Spellstrike is far better than trying to deliver a spell via an Ectoplasmatist's Spell Combat as you don't lose your spell if you miss.
As a side note, Eldritch Archer isn't restricted to bows.