Hazel of the Rootbloom costs {2}{B}{G}. For {T}, 2 life and tapping X untapped tokens she adds X mana in any combination of colors, and at your end step she creates a token copy of a target token you control, or two copies if it is a Squirrel. Every Squirrel token you make doubles at the end of every turn.
The precon already has the Squirrel engines, including Chatterfang, Chitterspitter and Second Harvest. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Hazel decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Hazel decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Squirreled Away precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough cheap Squirrel payoffs
Camellia, Valley Rotcaller, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Squirrel Mob all reward a Squirrel board, and they are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Sacrifice creatures that do nothing for tokens
Plaguecrafter, Skyfisher Spider and Woe Strider are sacrifice creatures that have you sacrifice a creature with no reward for a token deck. Plaguecrafter and Skyfisher Spider are played in about one Hazel deck in six.
Ramp that is not needed
Wolfwillow Haven and the Signets add mana to a deck where Hazel taps tokens for mana, and Moonstone Eulogist and Ogre Slumlord are five-drops that do little for Squirrels.
The 9 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Plaguecrafter is a 3/2 for {2}{B} that makes each player sacrifice a creature or planeswalker. In a token deck you sacrifice a token, but so does everyone else. It is played in about one Hazel deck in six.
Camellia, the Seedmiser is a 3/3 menace for {1}{B}{G}. Other Squirrels you control have menace, whenever you sacrifice one or more Foods you create a 1/1 Squirrel, and for {2} and forage you put a +1/+1 counter on each other Squirrel. A three-drop that makes a Squirrel from every Food you sacrifice. It is the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.
Skyfisher Spider is a 3/3 reach Spider for {2}{B}{G} that sacrifices another creature to destroy a nonland permanent. It is played in about one Hazel deck in five.
Valley Rotcaller is a 1/3 menace Squirrel Warlock for {1}{B}. Whenever it attacks, each opponent loses X life and you gain X life, where X is the number of other Squirrels, Bats, Lizards and Rats you control. With a Squirrel army, one attack drains the whole table.
Woe Strider is a 3/2 for {2}{B} that makes a Goat and sacrifices creatures to scry. It is played in about one Hazel deck in five.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is a 4/4 Squirrel for {1}{G}{G}{G}. Whenever she enters or attacks you create a 1/1 Squirrel, and for {1}{G}{G}{G} you create X Squirrels, where X is the number of Squirrels you control. Hazel doubles every one of them.
Moonstone Eulogist is a 4/4 flying Bat Warlock for {3}{B}{B} that makes Blood tokens when opponents' creatures die. It is played in about one Hazel deck in five.
Thornvault Forager is a two-mana creature that taps for {G}, or taps and forages for two mana of any colors. A mana dork that fixes, so Hazel's mana is needed less.
Wolfwillow Haven is a two-mana Aura that makes a land tap for an extra {G}, and can be sacrificed for a Wolf. It is played in about one Hazel deck in five.
Peregrin Took is a 2/3 for {2}{G}: if one or more tokens would be created under your control, those tokens plus an additional Food token are created instead, and you can sacrifice three Foods to draw a card. Every Squirrel makes a Food, and Camellia turns each sacrificed Food into another Squirrel.
Ogre Slumlord is a 3/3 for {3}{B}{B} that makes a Rat whenever another nontoken creature dies, and gives Rats deathtouch. It is played in about one Hazel deck in four.
Squirrel Mob is a creature for {1}{G}{G} that gets +1/+1 for each other Squirrel on the battlefield. In a deck full of Squirrel tokens, it is huge for three mana.
Haywire Mite is a one-mana artifact creature that gains you 2 life when it dies, and can exile a noncreature artifact or enchantment. It is played in about one Hazel deck in three, but it does little for tokens.
Mirkwood Bats is a 2/3 flier for {3}{B}: whenever you create or sacrifice a token, each opponent loses 1 life. Every Squirrel you make is a drain, and Hazel makes two a turn.
Insatiable Frugivore is a 2/4 Rat for {3}{B} that makes Food tokens and can sacrifice Foods to pump the team. It is played in about one Hazel deck in four.
Vinereap Mentor is a {B}{G} creature that creates a Food token when it enters and when it dies. A two-drop that makes two Foods for Peregrin Took, Camellia and Chitterspitter.
Chittering Witch ({3}{B}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 29 in the Oracle: it is in 30% of Hazel of the Rootbloom decks with 28% synergy. It reads: When this creature enters, create a number of 1/1 black Rat creature tokens equal to the number of opponents you have.
For the Common Good ({X}{X}{G}) scores 39: it is in 42% of Hazel of the Rootbloom decks with 37% synergy. It reads: Create X tokens that are copies of target token you control. Then tokens you control gain indestructible until your next turn. You gain 1 life for each token you control.
The full swap list
Cut
- Plaguecrafter
- Skyfisher Spider
- Woe Strider
- Moonstone Eulogist
- Wolfwillow Haven
- Ogre Slumlord
- Haywire Mite
- Insatiable Frugivore
- Chittering Witch
Add
- Camellia, the Seedmiser
- Valley Rotcaller
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
- Thornvault Forager
- Peregrin Took
- Squirrel Mob
- Mirkwood Bats
- Vinereap Mentor
- For the Common Good
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Chatterfang, Squirrel General$9.08
Played in 98% of Hazel decks. If one or more tokens would be created under your control, those tokens plus that many 1/1 Squirrels are created instead. - Chitterspitter$0.35
Sacrifices a token at your upkeep to put acorn counters on itself, and makes Squirrels bigger and more numerous. - Swarmyard Massacre$4.99
Creates two Squirrels, then gives each creature that is not an Insect, Rat, Spider or Squirrel -1/-1. - Toski, Bearer of Secrets$6.06
An indestructible creature that draws you a card whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player. - Second Harvest$3.70
Creates a copy of each token you control, which doubles your Squirrel army.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Nut Collector$5.28
Makes a Squirrel at every upkeep, and a bigger one with threshold. - Tippy-Toe, Terrific Partner$2.53
Creates an additional token with any token you create.
Squirreled Away already has the token engines and the doublers. The upgrade is cheap Squirrel payoffs that drain and grow with the army, and fewer sacrifice creatures and ramp pieces that do nothing for tokens. These nine swaps cost about $15 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Hazel of the Rootbloom from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Squirreled Away precon?
Using data from 12,324 Hazel of the Rootbloom decks, the highest-scoring additions are Camellia, the Seedmiser (for Plaguecrafter), Valley Rotcaller (for Skyfisher Spider) and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (for Woe Strider). The full list has 9 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Squirreled Away?
All 9 swaps cost about $15.40 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Nut Collector ($5.28) and Tippy-Toe, Terrific Partner ($2.53).
What should I cut from Squirreled Away?
The weakest cards for this commander are Plaguecrafter, Skyfisher Spider and Woe Strider. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Squirreled Away?
Keep Chatterfang, Squirrel General, Chitterspitter, Swarmyard Massacre, Toski, Bearer of Secrets and Second Harvest. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Hazel of the Rootbloom do?
Hazel of the Rootbloom costs {2}{B}{G}. For {T}, 2 life and tapping X untapped tokens she adds X mana in any combination of colors, and at your end step she creates a token copy of a target token you control, or two copies if it is a Squirrel. Every Squirrel token you make doubles at the end of every turn.
More Bloomburrow Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Hazel of the Rootbloom decks (12,324 of them when this was written, 2026-10-27) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Hazel of the Rootbloom decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is moderate for most of these cards because they are played in many Golgari decks, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.