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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar will not get a wider release until later this week, but following early access events this past weekend, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature drew significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness requiring one green and one colorless mana, the card includes Earthbending 1 (arguably the most effective among the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk with this card is another power: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub sold below $30. Post-prerelease, though, its value has shot up above $45 including listings for sale at $60.00. What explains Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mostly because of the explosive mana ramping it enables.

As it hits the battlefield, the cub turns a terrain card to a creature land granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, if it is not removed, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — in addition to other creatures on your side that generate mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect includes Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. However there are plenty of alternative mana dorks out there. This particular druid costs a bit more with stats 1/3 for two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get an enormous and very expensive threat on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates out of control with continued aggression after that.

If you dip into an additional hue in this strategy, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that can make any mana color. And something like this powerful dryad enables playing one extra land each turn as well as turns your entire land base providing all land types. It's also worth trying such as this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana provides each permanent you control the ability to be tapped for any color mana — even all creatures you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub may be OP regarding accelerating your resources, however what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Its power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it changes your non-token creatures Forests in addition to their other types. This means, each creature in play is able to produce double green by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that benefits from lots of lands (like Ashaya, P/T are equal to the number of lands you control).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. Her static effect causes Forest lands produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in each one yield three G.) Her plus ability is essentially an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, which is great but does not overlap with earthbend. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, makes your entire land base indestructible and allows you to search for your remaining Forests in your deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, this typically means you win.

This card is a must-have in any decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. When branching into red-green, consider this legendary card. This card features earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land are ready again and may attack once more. Although this card has emerged as a beloved leader, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most popular pick in the Avatar set.