[KissBlade]

Patala/BL can get away with lots of free scales cause prod/death/heat doesn't do much for them. Also you need the higher dom because you need to spread their heat dominion. Death and Blood provide access to paths they don't have. For LA Ulm, it's both thematic and provides the easy route to a sanguine instructor. It also has more versatility in practice than the lich because it is stealthy, life drain and flight. In fact the lich/master lich is quite overhyped among newer players as a good chassis. =P

With those being said though, mind you in my Patala guide, I thought VQ was a fun suggestion and had actually stated in the same paragraph that the GK (though nerfed now?) was probably a better alternative if you're looking in that route. The Cyclops and Destroyer of Worlds aren't shabby either.

PS. If you play Vanilla. You can probably afford the VQ since scale hits aren't as brutal but VQ is pretty overcosted in Vanilla. =\