GolgariLegendary Creature — Squirrel DruidHazel of the Rootbloom
Mana value4Rank#3,025
The Commander
, Pay 2 life, Tap X untapped tokens you control: Add X mana in any combination of colors.
At the beginning of your end step, create a token that's a copy of target token you control. If that token is a Squirrel, instead create two tokens that are copies of it.
Guide
Gameplan
Flood the board with tokens—especially Squirrels—then convert that wide board into explosive mana with Hazel's tap ability while the end-step copy trigger snowballs your best token (doubling Squirrels) every turn. You ramp aggressively, build redundancy, and eventually turn the army into damage, drains, or a game-ending mana sink.
Strengths
- Generates huge bursts of mana by tapping your token army, enabling X-spells and big payoffs
- End-step copy trigger creates relentless card/board advantage, doubling Squirrels for exponential growth
- Squirrel typal has surprisingly strong support that synergizes perfectly with the copy clause
- BG gives access to recursion, sacrifice payoffs, and the best ramp/tutor package
Weaknesses
- Heavily reliant on a wide board—board wipes set you back catastrophically
- Hazel's mana ability needs untapped tokens and pays life, so it's slow without setup
- Lacks built-in evasion or a single direct win condition; needs payoff cards to close
- Vulnerable to graveyard hate and token-hate effects that punish the go-wide plan
Key Cards
- Chatterfang, Squirrel General — Doubles all your token creation into extra Squirrels and turns the army into a removal/sacrifice engine.
- Doubling Season — Doubles token generation, supercharging both Hazel's copy trigger and the whole board.
- Pitiless Plunderer — Turns dying tokens into Treasure, giving alternate mana and fueling sacrifice loops.
- Parallel Lives — Another token doubler that multiplies your engine and Hazel's end-step copies.
- Squirrel Sovereign — Anthem and token maker that rewards going deep on the Squirrel subtheme Hazel doubles.
- Cryptolith Rite — Lets every token tap for mana redundantly alongside Hazel, enabling huge explosive turns.
Upgrade Path
Add efficient token doublers (Doubling Season, Anointed Procession, Mondrak), then layer in fast mana and tutors (Worldly Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Sylvan Library) to assemble engines reliably. Prioritize a compact win package—Craterhoof Behemoth plus an Aristocrats drain—so your wide boards convert to wins immediately, and include protection like Heroic Intervention and Boseiju to survive wraths.
Core Cards
- End-Raze Forerunners
- Skyfisher Spider
- Plaguecrafter
- Gourmand's Talent
- Maelstrom Pulse
- Cache Grab
- Tainted Wood
- Tear Asunder
- Scurry of Squirrels
- Deep Forest Hermit
- Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
- Swarmyard
Seeded from a single deck — rates appear once more public decks exist.
Win Conditions
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, or Bastion of Remembrance off mass token sacrifice
- ▸Overrun-style alpha strikes with Craterhoof Behemoth, Overwhelming Stampede, or Pathbreaker Ibex
- ▸Casting a massive X-spell like Torment of Hailfire or Exsanguinate off Hazel's mana burst
- ▸Infinite token loops generating unbounded triggers or mana to close the game
Archetypes
- Tokens — Hazel's end-step copy and mana ability reward a wide token board better than almost any commander.
- Squirrel Typal — The doubling clause specifically rewards Squirrel tokens, making typal payoffs uniquely strong.
- Combo — Token doublers plus copy effects and mana sinks enable infinite token/mana loops.
- Aristocrats — BG sacrifice payoffs convert the disposable token army into drain damage and value.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BG), by popularity.
