Great guide btw. Coming from 4e optimization, I am new to PF, so this guide has been very helpful.

Quote Originally Posted by Kurald Galain View Post
Indeed. However, note that Slashing Grace was errata'ed to no longer work with spell combat.

...not that I would recommend a kensai at level one, though.
Doesn't Fencing Grace still work though? This would seem to make a human Dex-magus kensai very strong at level 1, as they can get Weapon Focus, Weapon Finesse, AND Fencing Grace. So it seems at levels 1-2, Kensai is actually the strongest magus? +1 to hit / +static damage all day is easily worth a spell slot...?

Not a fan of kensai from levels 3-8, though. At level 4, they really suffer from losing both an extra spell and spell recall.

Kensai aren't proficient in armor at all. However, a strength-based Kensai could simply use his defensive buff spells to compensate for his lower armor class. Also, using a wand or Spell Blending to get Mage Armor is a decent trick.
Blending at level 6 seems good to me. They pick up Mage Armor, and now their AC is superior to the non-Kensai magus and can get quite tanky if both Dex and Int can be boosted enough (not to mention giant initiative from both stats).