<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hazel of the Rootbloom" href="#" target="_blank">Hazel of the Rootbloom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/annapavleeva" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anna Pavleeva</a></em></p>
<p data-slot-rendered-content="true">If you're a fan of fuzzy woodland creatures, you'll love this week's edition of <em>Fire and Ice</em>, the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article!</p>
<p>EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list. To learn more about the math behind this series, <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/fireicescoremath" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check out this page</a>! We've made a few changes to our methodology recently, and you can read all about them there.</p>
<p>Today we'll be focusing our data analysis on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hazel of the Rootbloom" href="#" target="_blank">Hazel of the Rootbloom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, one of the coolest precon commanders in recent memory. She encourages us to flood the board with tokens, focusing specifically on Squirrel tokens.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hazel of the Rootbloom"></div></div>
<h2><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hazel of the Rootbloom" href="#" target="_blank">Hazel of the Rootbloom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div id="attachment_180080" style="width: 999px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/newplot-17.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-180080" class="size-full wp-image-180080" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/newplot-17.png" alt="What's Hot and What's Not for Hazel of the Rootbloom?" width="989" height="550" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/newplot-17.png 989w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/newplot-17-300x167.png 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/newplot-17-768x427.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 989px) 100vw, 989px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-180080" class="wp-caption-text">What's Hot and What's Not for Hazel of the Rootbloom?</p></div>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, we get a 3/5 Squirrel Druid. Hazel also lets us pay two life, <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> her, and tap any number of untapped tokens we control to add one mana for each token we tap this way. Additionally, Hazel lets us create a copy of a token we control on our end step (plus an additional copy if we target a Squirrel with this ability).</p>
<p>Hazel is super strong, providing us with tons of mana on each of our turns. It's difficult to make use of her ability more than once per turn, as we'd need to untap all of our tokens to use them for mana multiple times. One activation of Hazel should be enough to let us cast some super powerful spells, though.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chatterfang, Squirrel General"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Second Harvest"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Camellia, the Seedmiser"></div></div>
<p>Among her most popular cards are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chatterfang, Squirrel General" href="#" target="_blank">Chatterfang, Squirrel General</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (98% of decks), <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Harvest" href="#" target="_blank">Second Harvest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (88% of decks), and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Camellia, the Seedmiser" href="#" target="_blank">Camellia, the Seedmiser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (71% of decks). Many Hazel decks are upgraded precons, which explains the near-ubiquity of some cards. The <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/squirreled-away" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Squirreled Away</em></a> deck that she led happened to be very well constructed, too.</p>
<h2>What's Fiery for Hazel Decks?</h2>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ninja Pizza" href="#" target="_blank">Ninja Pizza</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Fire Score of 13.89</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ninja Pizza"></div></div>
<p>While we don't care too much about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Food" href="#" target="_blank">Food</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> tokens, there are a few pieces that synergize well with them in our 99 (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thornvault Forager" href="#" target="_blank">Thornvault Forager</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gilded Goose" href="#" target="_blank">Gilded Goose</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Honored Dreyleader" href="#" target="_blank">Honored Dreyleader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>).</p>
<p>That aside, Ninja Pizza lets us create a token every single turn, including the turn it hits the board. Plus, those tokens are mana rocks even if Hazel gets removed.</p>
<p>I'm reminded of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Awakening Zone" href="#" target="_blank">Awakening Zone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but this enchantment is certainly stronger.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Springleaf Parade" href="#" target="_blank">Springleaf Parade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Fire Score of 6.54</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Springleaf Parade"></div></div>
<p>It seems like this enchantment is popping up everywhere these days. It has a home in most every token deck, as a creature token producer and mana accelerant. Because we create so much mana with our commander, we can pump a huge value into this spell's <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-x" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> cost to flood the board with tokens. Then, because the Shapeshifter tokens it creates are also Squirrels, we get to make two copies of them on our end step.</p>
<p>Much like Ninja Pizza, this enchantment also provides us with access to extra mana if Hazel isn't available for any reason.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirrormind Crown" href="#" target="_blank">Mirrormind Crown</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Fire Score of 3.87</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirrormind Crown"></div></div>
<p>This Equipment may cost a full <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-6" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to get online, but it can allow us to do some pretty ridiculous things. Imagine moving to our end step, and creating two token copies of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Forest Hermit" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Forest Hermit</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Valley Rotcaller" href="#" target="_blank">Valley Rotcaller</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>This is extremely exciting for all token commanders, Hazel included. I'm most excited to see how it performs in Aristocrats builds of Hazel, where multiple copies of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can quickly end a game.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chronicle of Victory" href="#" target="_blank">Chronicle of Victory</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Fire Score of 2.40</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chronicle of Victory"></div></div>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/ecl" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Lorwyn Eclipsed</em></a> had a lot of great cards for typal decks, and Chronicle of Victory has popped up as a great top-end threat for us. It provides a neat anthem to (almost) all of our creatures and creature tokens, while also providing us with the card advantage we'll need to keep pushing through the late game.</p>
<p>I'm sure this will become a staple of creature type-focused decks throughout Commander, given its universal usefulness.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mutable Explorer" href="#" target="_blank">Mutable Explorer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Fire Score of 2.11</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mutable Explorer"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mutavault" href="#" target="_blank">Mutavault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great land for decks that care about specific creature types. It allows us to produce mana while being a relevant body at any moment that we need it to be.</p>
<p>With this Shapeshifter we can create a token version of Mutavault, activate it to turn it into a creature, and make two token copies of that creature land on our end step. That's a crazy amount of ramp for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, and we can keep making copies of our Mutavault tokens on future turns if we so choose.</p>
<p>This creature is also a Squirrel itself, which is a nice bonus.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodline Bidding" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodline Bidding</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Fire Score of 1.79</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloodline Bidding"></div></div>
<p>We'll usually have more than enough creatures on board to cast this spell for an extremely reduced cost. That means we'll be able to bring back all of our Squirrels for pennies on the dollar!</p>
<p>While we're not super focused on sacrificing nontoken creatures or milling ourselves, this sorcery is still an extremely potent reanimation spell. It's better than almost any other recursion we could run, due to the sheer number of creatures we get to bring back to the fray.</p>
<h2>What's Icy for Hazel Decks?</h2>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nut Collector" href="#" target="_blank">Nut Collector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Ice Score of -2.71</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nut Collector"></div></div>
<p>This card does two great things for us: create lots of Squirrel tokens, and buff our Squirrels into potent combat threats. Unfortunately, it costs <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-5" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to cast. You'd have to be nuts to pay that much mana for this creature, which also just so happens to be a 1/1.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Verdant Command" href="#" target="_blank">Verdant Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Ice Score of -2.19</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Verdant Command"></div></div>
<p>This spell does create two 1/1 Squirrel tokens for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, but the other effects that we get to choose from are extremely niche. Planeswalkers aren't that common in Commander, exiling just one card from a graveyard likely won't stop any reanimation-centric game plans, and three life is practically nothing in our format.</p>
<p>This spell just doesn't do enough.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Squirrel Sovereign" href="#" target="_blank">Squirrel Sovereign</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Ice Score of -1.56</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Squirrel Sovereign"></div></div>
<p>This is a neat anthem, letting us swing in for victory with a wide board of fuzzy little guys. But we've got more efficient win conditions in our 99. From <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Valley Rotcaller" href="#" target="_blank">Valley Rotcaller</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beastmaster Ascension" href="#" target="_blank">Beastmaster Ascension</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, there's better ways for us to win the game.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Squirrel Mob" href="#" target="_blank">Squirrel Mob</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - Ice Score of -1.50</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Squirrel Mob"></div></div>
<p>This three-drop doesn't have any relevant combat abilities. While it might become extremely large, especially for a creature that costs just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, we have very few ways to turn that power and toughness into combat damage or on-board advantage.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Odd Acorn Gang" href="#" target="_blank">The Odd Acorn Gang</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can give this creature trample, but that just means that Squirrel Mob is better off in a deck led by The Odd Acorn Gang instead.</p>
<h2>What's in a Hazel of the Rootbloom Deck?</h2>
<p>Here's a Hazel deck with all of her hot cards (and none of her cold cards):</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Fire and Ice - Hazel of the Rootbloom" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Hazel of the Rootbloom
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Academy Manufactor
*1 Arasta of the Endless Web
*1 Beledros Witherbloom
*1 Camellia, the Seedmiser
*1 Chatterfang, Squirrel General
*1 Deep Forest Hermit
*1 End-Raze Forerunners
*1 Gilded Goose
*1 Haywire Mite
*1 Hazel&#039;s Brewmaster
*1 Honored Dreyleader
*1 Mirkwood Bats
*1 Morbid Opportunist
*1 Mutable Explorer
*1 Nadier&#039;s Nightblade
*1 Peregrin Took
*1 Prosperous Innkeeper
*1 Ravenous Squirrel
*1 Scurry of Squirrels
*1 The Odd Acorn Gang
*1 Thornvault Forager
*1 Tireless Provisioner
*1 Toski, Bearer of Secrets
*1 Valley Rotcaller
*1 Vinereap Mentor
*1 Zulaport Cutthroat
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Chitterspitter
*1 Chronicle of Victory
*1 Golgari Signet
*1 Idol of Oblivion
*1 Maskwood Nexus
*1 Mirrormind Crown
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Sword of the Squeak
*1 Talisman of Resilience
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Bastion of Remembrance
*1 Beastmaster Ascension
*1 Binding the Old Gods
*1 Doubling Season
*1 Moldervine Reclamation
*1 Ninja Pizza
*1 Springleaf Parade
*1 Squirrel Nest
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Cache Grab
*1 Deadly Dispute
*1 Plumb the Forbidden
*1 Putrefy
*1 Saw in Half
*1 Second Harvest
*1 Tear Asunder
*1 Windgrace&#039;s Judgment
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Bloodline Bidding
*1 Chatterstorm
*1 Cultivate
*1 Decree of Pain
*1 For the Common Good
*1 Maelstrom Pulse
*1 Rootcast Apprenticeship
*1 Shamanic Revelation
*1 Swarmyard Massacre
[/Sorceries]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Garruk, Cursed Huntsman
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*9 Forest
*1 Golgari Rot Farm
*1 Grim Backwoods
*1 Haunted Mire
*1 Jungle Hollow
*1 Llanowar Wastes
*1 Necroblossom Snarl
*1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
*1 Path of Ancestry
*8 Swamp
*1 Swarmyard
*1 Tainted Wood
*1 Temple of Malady
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Twilight Mire
*1 Viridescent Bog
*1 Woodland Cemetery
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>That's it for Hazel! She's a super interesting card, but somehow not the most powerful <em>Bloomburrow</em> precon commander. While all four leaders are all strong, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ms. Bumbleflower" href="#" target="_blank">Ms. Bumbleflower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sits a notch above <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bello, Bard of the Brambles" href="#" target="_blank">Bello, Bard of the Brambles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zinnia, Valley&#039;s Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Zinnia, Valley&#039;s Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and Hazel.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ms. Bumbleflower"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bello, Bard of the Brambles"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zinnia, Valley&#039;s Voice"></div></div>
<p>Which of these commanders is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll be back soon with more <em>Fire and Ice</em>!</p>


golgari squirrels

Fire and Ice: Which Cards Are Hot and Cold for Hazel of the Rootbloom?