Vampire Queen + Underrated Pretenders?

[Edi]

Ulm rarely if ever needs a high bless, its strengths are elsewhere.

Bog mummies can get life drain equivalent with the spell Leeching Touch, but it requires fairly extensive blood research. Bog mummies also have the second path of magic to start with, making them viable for a double bless, though few would take lv 9 D/B bless.

In general, neither the BM nor the VQ is what I'd pick for pretender in most cases. I'd pick VQ for BF Ulm but not at that price. You can get a ridiculously striped awake rainbow crone for the same price and it becomes even more ridiculous if you make it dormant. But that's a nation specific complaint, not overall.