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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set will not get a wider release before the end of the week, however after early access events recently, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in market worth.

Even during previews, this small creature attracted significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness priced at G and 1 mana, it has level 1 earthbending (possibly the most effective of the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here comes from an additional effect: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub was available below $30. Post-prerelease, though, the market price escalated to nearly $50 and one seller offering as high as $60. Why are we seeing such high costs for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the explosive mana ramping it enables.

As it hits play, this creature transforms a terrain card into a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, if it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — along with mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice for synergy includes Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate a green resource. But numerous other mana generation creatures available. Another option is a higher-cost choice with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value instead.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you can easily get a very big high-cost threat into play by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling exponentially with continued aggression from that point.

When adding an additional hue in this strategy, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks which produce any mana color. Another card, this powerful dryad lets you play an additional land per turn plus makes every land you control into every basic land type. You can also consider something like this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana grants every card you own the ability to be tapped for one mana of any color — which covers all creatures in play.

This card could be too strong when it comes to accelerating your resources, however what closes out the game with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer has been Ashaya. Its power and toughness match your land count, plus it turns your non-token creatures Forests in addition to their original types. In other words, all your creatures you control may generate two green mana when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from a high land count (like Ashaya, P/T match the number of lands you control).

Nissa works perfectly in this deck. Her static effect makes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, so each one yield three G.) Her main ability is essentially an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbending. The minus ability, though, grants all of your lands unbreakable enabling you to draw out all the remaining forests in your deck. If you can actually activate this power, this typically means you win.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for any kind of decks using green and Avatar that use earthbend. By including Gruul colors, consider Bumi. He has earthbend 4, and if it hits a player to a player, each animated land are ready again for another attack. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, this small creature is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the collaboration.