Just thought this might help anyone struggling like me...

1. Focus on Intrigue (Schemer) lifestyle and get Melanchonic resonance blood (Hunt or Herdify). Get Fortitude or Obfuscate either from your Predator style, or from a Journey. This is important, Vykos begins with 0 points in Intrigue and is an easy target of Murder schemes. You'll also need the points for your schemes, soon.

2. Your biggest threat is Etrius’s House of Tremere. After couple of Herdify schemes, try to Sway Etrius. If you are lucky, he will offer you an Alliance soon, making your position much more stable. Another good possible Ally is Hedeon Yaroslavich (weaker army, but much cheaper to call). Don't accept alliance with Josef Zvi, he's weak and probably will vanish soon!

3. Your de jure claims in Poland are well-protected in the beginning. Instead, aim your army at Kingdom and Duchy of Bohemia. Josef Zvi’s Kingdom of Bohemia is easier to conquer, but the real price is in Shaagra’s Kingdom of Bohemia – the castles of Olomouc and Čáslav. If you get Prague before the Tremere, good for you. With Opole, Čáslav and Olomouc, you will have a stable economy.

4. After fights over Bohemia are over, take your time. Upgrade the Silver Mine in Čáslav and begin a Murder scheme on Nikita of Sredetz (leader of the Sea of Nod), frabricate a claim on Gacka in Croatia (probably still in the Sea of Nod). After you kill Nikita and seize Gacka, your special Decision becomes available.

Congratulations! Now that you are much more powerful, you can focus on taking Venice and Constantinople for Dreaming Again...