Battle Mage Build

Not too much activity here lately but what do you mean by battle mage? Do you mean being on the frontlines and using melee attacks? Or wearing str gear? If its the former, I would recommend against it except for low level play or just for fun since your mage would do pretty pitiful damage. You might get by, especially playing solo, but if you play with others, you'll end up being just a sidekick with everyone else getting the kills. But if its the latter, mages can wear str gear just fine. Equipping a shield alone might be worth it. The downside of course is that you'll do less damage since str gear has some of the steepest requirements in terms of stat investment but the littlest return since pumping str only increases weapon damage.

All that said, you could play around with magnetic shield, hex, freezing aura, shock, nightmare, etc. They would all complement an up close style. Just don't expect anything but a novelty build.