[Bonfire]

KisssBlade made a pretty strong case for the VQ in his Patala guide.

I think the VQ is only worth it if your nation benefits from a pretender with death magic and has national blood summons that require paths your mages don't have. I think part of the reason the VQ is considered a weak choice is that not many nations fit this description. That and she's super expensive outside of cbm.

So LA Ulm, Patala, and Bandar Log seem like strong contenders. Not sure if there are any others.