{"ops":[{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"For the September 2026 Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest"},{"insert":"\nThree foods for "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Peregrin Took"}},{"insert":" , to draw enough cards to reach the sky\nSeven for "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Meatsqueak, Hoard Lord"}},{"insert":" to make our squirrels as strong as stone\nNine for "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Chatterfang, Squirrel General"}},{"insert":" who makes squirrels doomed to die \nOne food for the squirrel lord on his treetop throne\nIn the land of the forest where the foragers lie\nOne food to rule them all, one Hobbit to make them\nOne squirrel to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.\n\nHello to whoever may be reading this! Today I've cooked up (ba-dum crash) a unique deck for this month's contest! For the contest, I spent a good bit of time surfing Scryfall, but I really couldn't figure out something unique to build. First, I tried out a Notary Hobbits Eldrazi deck, but it felt boring and flavorless (Get it?). Luckily for me, the answer had been right in front of me the whole time. Ever since the Hobbit set came out, I've been back on a Lord of the Rings buzz. A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to make a Frodo and Sam deck because omg their precon is expensive (you can buy all the singles from it for less than the precon price!), and I realized there is a tribe that loves being in Golgari and LOVES making tokens. So, the Frodo and Sam become rulers of the squirrels deck was born.\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true},"insert":"Goal of the Deck/Gameplan"},{"insert":"\nFrodo and Sam are an amazing food-based value engine. So, this deck likes to try to play slow and grindy (Hence the 14 Targeted Removal and 3 Board Wipes) so we can get our commander properly tempted and get down one of our value engines. Once Frodo hits level 2 (hopefully on turn 5) and we can start looting, we want to start building up our board. This deck runs a TON of token producers (squirrels, unsurprisingly, like making tokens). Once we get our token engines down, we want to start capitalizing on food production using Sam and the Forage mechanic from Bloomburrow (the basis of why I chose Frodo and Sam as our commanders). For those unfamiliar, the mechanic lets you either exile 3 cards from your graveyard or sacrifice a food to get an effect. Considering we make at least 1 food per turn with our commander, this is a pretty small cost to our deck. Once we get enough squirrels, we should drop down a lord to pump them up, and then pitter-patter all over their faces!!! Also, interestingly, we don't always need Frodo to win the game. If we have a strong hand with a token producer on 2, it might be better to forgo him and play it. However, I only suggest this if you also have a lord in hand and can capitalize on these tokens early, as Frodo's late-game value is immense (Draw 2, Discard 1 on attack, burn the table for 9 total every attack, and also an incredible blocker..\n\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true},"insert":"Ideal Curve"},{"insert":"\n1) Tapland\n2) Frodo/Token Maker\n3) Sam\n4) Value Piece/Remvoal and crack food\n5) Value Piece/Removal and crack food\n6) Lord\n\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true},"insert":"Budget"},{"insert":"\nI disregarded budget when building this deck, but if you want to decrease the cost, there are a couple of things you can do. First, the mana base is very expensive, and you could probably make a cheaper one (albeit less efficient). Next, there are a lot of $ 10 to $ 20 draw engines or token engines, and we could easily cut them for cheaper but less efficient ones ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Chronicle of Victory"}},{"insert":" -> "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mangara, the Diplomat"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Academy Manufactor"}},{"insert":" - >"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Savvy Hunter"}},{"insert":" ), or add more removal, because this deck really shines late game. Doing those two should probably get the deck down to a much more reasonable $ 150 to $200 range. However, we're here for a smoother deck, because I don't actually have to buy the cards!!! \n\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true},"insert":"Other Notes"},{"insert":"\nWe run all the untapped fetches available in our colors, because if we don't have a food to sacrifice for forage, we can exile them from our graveyard to pay the cost instead (Hence why our lands are so strikingly expensive)"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Preposterous Proportions"}},{"insert":" is really only in here as a flavor win since we're in Bracket 2. It has big squirrels on it, and that makes me happy :)"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"We don't have any tutors, but if you get like, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scheming Symmetry"}},{"insert":" -ed or something, you should probably get either "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tippy-Toe, Terrific Partner"}},{"insert":" (That hurt to write because I have beef with her from Marvel Rivals)."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"We run lands like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cavern of Souls"}},{"insert":" that make you name a creature type. While usually you would name squirrel, if you haven't played your commanders yet, I would probably name Halfling on the first one you play (If you draw another, totally name Squirrel)."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The deck technically isn't legal yet, as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Meatsqueak, Hoard Lord"}},{"insert":" still isn't released, but it's perfect for what we want to do in this deck so let it slide, ok?"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Not related to the deck, but I used to try to catch squirrels in a bucket whenever I went to Virginia as a kid. I never got close to them (probably because I was scared of what it would do to me if I actually caught one), but it was a good way to get exercise."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThat's it for this deck tech! I hope you learned a little more about it, and I encourage you to try goldfishing it (maybe with the shiny new interaction simulator!) and see how fun it is! Happy squirrlin'!\n"}]}