I'm a beginning hunter with a limited budget (thank you grad school), if you had to choose one camo pattern for duck and deer hunting (the two I'm most interested in), what would you choose?  For ducks I'm not sure if I will be hunting flooded timber or marsh, for deer most likely pine forests.  Thanks for the help!

Camo only works if you can hold still, so the actual pattern hasn't got a lot to do with it. Ducks flare away when they see the flash of your face when you look up, unless you happen to be very dark skinned. Contrary to popular belief of the camo nut true believers just about any camo will work if it closely matches the foliage around your blind or stand. In Deer Hunting you could bow hunt in Hunter Orange and still get close to deer, however ducks and other birds can distinguish color.