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AuthorDoug Linn

Doug Linn is a member of Team Meandeck and has a DCI rating higher than the contents of his bank account (which isn't saying much). He is an avid fan of Vintage and Legacy and specializes in tuning decks. He also won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades, and a green 4 from UNO.

Legacy’s Allure – From The (Lim-Dul’s) Vault


SCG Open Richmond!

Tuesday, February 23rd – This week, Doug looks at a powerful Blue uncommon from Alliances with lots of text on it… no, not Force of Will, Lim-Dul’s Vault! How does the card compare to Vampiric Tutor, a card that’s too cool for school in Legacy? How can we exploit the deck stacking ability with a new Worldwake card that’s already caused a lot of excitement? Find out that and more in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – Exploring Zoo Variations


SCG Open Richmond!

Monday, February 15th – Zoo is one of the most statistically common decks in Legacy, but it takes on many forms. In this week’s column, Doug looks at five different variations and suggests that Zoo is most powerful when it is focused on one of these builds. He considers the core of the deck alongside different interchangeable additions with an eye toward crafting Zoo to beat a certain metagame. Find out the standard and experimental types of Zoo in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – The Merfolk Mirror Match


Grand Prix: Oakland!

Tuesday, February 9th – With Merfolk being one of the most popular Legacy decks, the mirror match is bound to happen at an event and this week, Doug pulls the cover off of this peculiar match. Find out what cards are great in the mirror, which ones are merely playable and which ones you should cut with abandon! Get a take on how to evaluate opening hands and reminders for the strange combat math that Merfolk Lords create. Get tactical sideboarding advice and more in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – Building Gifts for a Merfolk/Zoo Metagame


Grand Prix: Oakland!

Tuesday, February 2nd – Inspired by the consistent success of both Merfolk and Zoo in Legacy, Doug presents a deck that attempts to tackle both of those decks by treating them as poles of the metagame. Using the powerful Gifts Ungiven and a relatively new win condition, his deck attempts to wallop the common aggro decks while maintaining flexibility in the face of the diversity of the format. Find out how to build a deck that mixes board control with combo kills in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – What Worldwake Means For Us


Grand Prix: Oakland!

Monday, January 25th – Worldwake has a great number of Legacy-ready cards, from new draw spells to efficient attackers. Go through an abstract analysis of cards to see whether they fit well in Legacy and get a handle on the new manlands and engine cards. With roughly two-thirds of Worldwake spoiled already, the set looks fantastic for Legacy. Check out this week’s article for the Legacy hits in the newest set!

Legacy’s Allure – Delving Into Dream Halls


Grand Prix: Oakland!

Tuesday, January 19th – The Dream Halls deck has been getting a lot of attention recently, and in this article, Doug explains how the deck works and what to watch out for. Is Cruel Ultimatum right for Dream Halls? Can the deck pack a more efficient kill? Find out the various configurations of the Dream Halls deck and get tips for playing with and against the new combination deck. Find this, plus a bonus Mono Blue Dream Halls deck, in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – Digesting the SCG Dallas / Fort Worth Legacy Open

Read Doug Linn every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, January 12th – This weekend’s tournament in Dallas brought out some old standbys and new decks for Legacy. In this week’s article, Doug looks at the ubiquity of Merfolk decks and the curious choices of the two Zoo decks, along with tips for mirror matches and sideboarding strategies. Find out the newest tech and synergies to get the most out of these top decks in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – Building a Metagamed Enchantress List

The StarCityGames.com Open Series returns to Dallas/Fort Worth!
Tuesday, January 5th – Hot off the heels of a great Enchantress performance at the StarCityGames.com Los Angeles Legacy Open, Doug explores how to build an Enchantress deck to beat an expected metagame. Using Stephen Menendian’s innovative deckbuilding process, Doug walks the reader through expected matches and the key cards, culminating in a composite assembled to beat those specific matches. Get critical information on one of Legacy’s great under-the-radar decks, all in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – An Incredible Hulk


StarCityGames.com 10K Open - Los Angeles

Tuesday, December 29th – Doug takes a swing at an updated Entomb-Protean Hulk deck for Legacy, adopting a rock-solid manabase and one of the format’s most annoying cards. He explains the deck’s card choices, as well as omitted cards and general strategy. Get a new Hulk list to play around with and inspire your own creations in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – The Winter Deck Tech Roundup


StarCityGames.com 10K Open - Los Angeles

Tuesday, December 22nd – This week, Doug checks out some of the fringe decks in Legacy with an eye toward presenting techy new options for Legacy players. Check out a use of the Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry combination and another strong Smallpox list. See a new take on yet another Legends card that can generate a very cool game win and get the latest in Counterbalance technology. All this, plus a fun contest, in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – Loaming in St. Louis

Read Doug Linn every week... at StarCityGames.com!
Tuesday, December 15th – The SCG $5K Legacy Open St. Louis this Sunday resulted in an amazing Top 8, bringing the revival of Aggro Loam and illustrating the consistently strong performances of Zoo and Merfolk. Check out Doug’s analysis of the four (!) decks packing Life from the Loam, and what it means for the format. With three pairs of decks in the final showdown, get a rundown on their similarities and differences to give you an edge on tuning the decks when you choose to play them at your next tournament!

Legacy’s Allure – A Legacy Financial Forecast

SCG 10k St. Louis Offers First Chances to Qualify for the 2010 StarCityGames.com Invitational!
Tuesday, December 8th – With the bounty of tournaments in 2010, including the SCG 10K St. Louis this weekend, Legacy is set to see many cards increase in value or hold steady to already-high prices. This week, Doug outlines several categories of cards with examples to help you understand which cards should be picked up now, which can wait for later and the cards that could jump in price. Get your necessary financial and trading advice for Eternal formats in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!

Legacy’s Allure – The 2010 Legacy Calendar

Claim your territory at The 2009's State and Provincial Championships!
Monday, November 30th – This week, Doug presents an incredible calendar of Legacy events and dates of interest for the coming year. Get information regarding tournament dates, set releases, and Banned List updates. You’ll find helpful reminders for good times to make travel arrangements and the best times of the year to get a scoop on new Legacy tech. Read this week’s Legacy’s Allure now and bookmark it for later!

Legacy’s Allure – The Case for Land Tax

Claim your territory at The 2009's State and Provincial Championships!
Monday, November 23rd – This week, Doug looks at one of the most curious cards on the Legacy Banned List: Land Tax. Is the card a remnant from the old days of Extended, or should it rightfully still sit on the Banned List? Looking through the history of Land Tax decks, an analysis of what the card practically does in a game, and the requirements for getting the most out of the enchantment, find out what Doug concludes about the possible impact of an unbanned Land Tax in Legacy, and why this December is the right time to try it out.

Legacy’s Allure – Entombing Treasures

Claim your territory at The 2009's State and Provincial Championships!
Tuesday, November 17th – In this week’s article, Doug considers two applications of Entomb in Legacy, the traditional Reanimator style and innovative Protean Hulk lists. How can Entomb power up a Reanimator list beyond getting a fatty to bring back? Get a history lesson about Benzo in old Extended, find out the different possible Hulk combination kills and get suggestions on how to play around graveyard hate in this week’s Legacy’s Allure!