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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set will not become widely available until later this week, however after prerelease weekends this past weekend, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub drew a lot of attention. A 2/2 priced at G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub has the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the strongest among the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage in its design lies in another power: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, the card sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, though, the market price escalated above $45 including listings priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing such high costs for this little creature? Mainly thanks to the rapid resource generation it enables.

As it hits play, Badgermole Cub converts a land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it is not removed, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — plus any creatures in your control which tap for mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for G mana. But there are plenty of alternative mana dorks available. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, it's simple to summon a massive and very expensive creature on the board by round three or four. The situation escalates out of control if you keep the pressure on after that.

When adding a secondary color in this strategy, cards like these mana-fixing creatures work perfectly which produce all five colors. Another card, this powerful dryad lets you play an additional land per turn plus transforms your entire land base into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants each permanent you control the capacity to tap and generate any color mana — which covers all creatures in play.

This card might seem overpowered regarding ramping up your mana generation, but how do you win with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer has been this legendary creature. Power and toughness are set by your land count, and it changes each creature you own to be Forests along with other subtypes. This means, every single creature on your board can generate two green mana when tapped.

Another creature is a costly, large threat that benefits from lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, P/T are based on how many lands you have).

Nissa works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities causes all Forests produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, so each one generate three green mana.) Her plus ability functions like a form of land animation, adding counters on terrain, a useful effect but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, on the other hand, grants your entire land base immune to destruction and allows you to put onto the battlefield every Forest left in the deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it almost certainly you win.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have in any green-based Avatar strategies focusing on earthbend. By including Gruul colors, there’s Bumi. He has earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land become untapped and can attack again. While that version has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the desired card in the Avatar set.