Red gives us Lightning Bolt for creature kill and White also weighs in with Swords to Plowshares.

 Well, now it’s time to look at a few Three Deuce builds:

 Three Deuce – Basic Build

• 4 Lay of the Land
• 4 Crop Rotation
• 2 Land Grant
• 4 Lotus Petal
• 4 River Boa
• 3 Granger Guildmage
• 3 Mogg Fanatic
• 2 Mother of Runes
• 2 Soul Warden
• 1 Ghazban Ogre
• 1 Flailing Soldier
• 2 Horned Kavu
• 3 Rancor
• 1 Empyrial Armor
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 3 Swords to Plowshares
• 10 Forest
• 3 Plains
• 4 Mountain

This build is pretty basic. It starts with the land search package described above. The choice here was to go for the low casting cost spells so as to keep the deck streamlined and fast. Because of this there are going to be a greater number of 1cc drops. Next, the deck has some good removal with the Guildmage, Fanatic, Swords to Plowshares, and Bolts. Note that each and everyone is a 1cc drop. The White creatures give it some of the Utility it is missing in the other colors. Again for 1cc, the Mother of Runes can protect your own creatures or she can go off and make your own unblockable. The Soul Warden also gives the deck a little life gain, with all the creatures in this deck and in the environment the Warden will become a prime target which is good for you. Let your opponent waste a spell killing the Warden, you have better stuff coming. So as not to avoid offense the deck packs a pretty good weenie punch between the Boa, the Ogre, and the Soldier. Pumping the Soldier and giving it Firs

With this deck you really have three missions: remove blockers, lay threats, diversify your mana. The missions pretty much go in that order. Remember this is a tempo deck and you have to keep the momentum on your side. As long as you have an attacker on the table, you want him to get through. If momentum is on your side focus on grabbing the off color mana since you will need it later.

 Three Deuce – Green Build

• 4 Lay of the Land
• 4 Land Grant
• 2 Harrow
• 4 Nomadic Elf
• 4 River Boa
• 3 Granger Guildmage
• 3 Wild Dogs
• 4 Horned Kavu
• 1 Cradle Guard 
• 1 Death Spark 
• 4 Rancor
• 2 Keldon Mantle  
• 3 Swords to Plowshares
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 10 Forest
• 3 Mountain
• 1 Plains
• 1 Swamp

 This deck is all about Green, everything else is just support and is just splashed. Obviously this changes the creature base and the deck takes a slightly more offensive flavor. The Nomadic Elf is a perfect fit since he can produce the mana of your choice and he is a solid 2/2 for 2cc. Don’t forget that once you cast the Kavu you can return him to your hand and recast him to change the mana color that he produces! The big change, and perhaps the most fun, is the addition of another super powered enchantment. Keldon Mantle gives your creature the ability to pump up, trample, and regenerate. Regeneration costs Black of course, so a swamp is thrown in if you choose not to use your Nomadic Elf to get access to Black. With a Guildmage you can easily have a 7/4, trample, regenerating, first strike Kavu in the mid-game. This card can really be a finisher. Swords to Plowshares is important enough that even though there are only 3, you may want to have your Elves ready for White since thi

The real beauty of Three Deuce is that there are so many possible deck builds and they are all lots of fun to play. Building Three Deuce can be a little more difficult than building most decks because there is so much you want to do and the deck list often looks weak. You can look at it for ever and say “That’s a good card, and that’s okay, but how does it win?!?”. Trust me, Three Deuce can win and if it doesn’t, you will have had a good time playing it. Remember; it can run on low land, don’t forget to use as much creature removal as possible, and utility in your creatures is more important than raw power. Just for fun, try throwing in Sylvan Library, this can really make a good utility/control Three Deuce Build.

- chaps_man@hotmail.com