Going melee until Wand becomes effective

How can I setup my Templar I'd eventually like to turn into a Wand Templar for the earlier parts of the game?

Just got into the game myself, but sounds like a hard and fun route to take using a weapon to spec for another later!
I would try a mace (one hander) and shield then put your points into the intel pools.

But then again just what I might do, more experienced players could give you much more advice :)