A Shadow Simp's Vynnset Deck Tech

I will be completely honest with you, playing Vynnset is not for the faint of heart, and a lot of times traditional gameplay and perception is warped by the fact that you will regularly be put into positions that other players would categorize as unwinnable. It is not uncommon for Vynnset to concede a huge life deficit in the early game, and I regularly joke that my hero starts at 20 life because of how regularly I find myself in an early game state where my opponent is sitting at full life and I am already in the teens. It is harrowing to sit for multiple turns with at least one card in Blood Debt and look at a full life opponent who pitches 3 and blocks 6 every turn while your life slowly ticks down due to your own cards. But there is no other deck that comes back in quite the same fashion that Vynnset does: you can be at single digit life totals, and suddenly swing 30 damage out of cards you have carefully sown and watered with your life-blood to reap your opponent’s life total. To play Vynnset you have to give in to the shadows: to understand there is no victory without sacrifice—no power without pain. You have to be comfortable with every hand and situation your deck will throw at you: every Runeblade hand, every tick of Blood Debt, every life paid to your hero ability, and every card that will be ripped out of your hand, all in service of a greater cause.

Embrace the Iron Maiden: I can promise you will not leave unscathed, but neither will your opponents.

Background

I recently came in 2nd in the January AGE Los Angeles Open, but this is far from my first foray into card gaming. I started playing trading card games when I was very young (about 5-6 years old), starting with Yu Gi Oh and moving on to Magic when I got into middle school (2012, Return to Ravnica had just dropped). After playing Magic for a long time, I found Flesh and Blood in late 2024: just before Rosetta was released but post book-burning. From my start in the game and playing Classic Constructed, I have always played Shadow heroes (Vynnset and Levia). I played these heroes because I enjoyed their aesthetics, game mechanics, and the fact that they were considered low-tier heroes. Although there were many people I could talk to about Levia, there were less people who played Vynnset in my local scene. Thus, much of my deck building and the evolution of how I play Vynnset are based on personal reflections and choices as well as conversing with my friend and fellow Vynnset player/Viserai refugee @_DennistheTall. Looking back at my conversations with Dennis, a lot of how we talk is: