It will probably be a common sight in DE armies to handle the mandatory 3x1 spirit hosts from VC players.
Overall, the Lifetaker rarely disappoints me. Against other DE players it usually get it's points back already in the first shooting phase by killing a few shades.
Yeah, the lifetaker is in every list I make. I can't do without it and really hope we'll keep it in the new edition of our army book as well.
Personal quote: "It's better to do little damage and lose nothing than to do lots of damage and lose everything." Final tournament score for 7th DE book in 8th edition - W/D/L: 25/5/10