I'd have no issue with CDC beating a theoretical elemental WS, as it should be the reward for chasing those particular weapons. Rather, the desire for an easily accessed, capable WS is part of what's arguably needed to shift some the stigma away from melee being lulzy. Some have been all over Evisceration, past and present, but we know our dagger selection has been kind of spotty and its a WS that drops off hard once you remove atma (To the point most THFs and DNCs use DE instead). Main problem with Vorpal is losing an off-hand hit, which jobs like BLU and PLD can gain without really losing anything (and BLUs aren't shackled to /NIN or /DNC for DW anymore). Standalone, Sanguine Blade is an okay WS, better with a specific atma build, but not enough to really turn heads without it. 2.5k-3k in Abyssea with a proper build isn't asking for too much, really. WHMs can do better with Hexa and even Evisc could top that with enough crits and extra hits, but it's more about consistency and the added utility on mobs where defense may actually be a concern. In a way, it reminds me of the old "Build TP to open for Spirits Within" opener people did in sky and such (Which the variable element properties would basically make this a SW+# with no enspell present).

And parentheses. x.x