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MTG’s Avatar crossover set will not hit the general market before the end of the week, however after early access events over the last few days, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub attracted widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness requiring a single green and one generic mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (arguably the strongest within the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk here lies in its second ability: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

Initially, the card could be purchased below $30. Post-prerelease, however, the market price escalated above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. The reason for premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Primarily because of the rapid resource generation it provides.

Upon entering the battlefield, Badgermole Cub transforms a land into a creature with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it is not removed, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — along with any creatures on your side that produce resources.

An ideal partner to combine with would be the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces one green mana. But numerous creatures that make mana out there. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a very big pricey threat into play within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression after that.

By incorporating an additional hue using this method, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks that generate any color of mana. Another card, a useful enchantment creature allows you to put another terrain every round AND turns all of your lands into every basic land type. Another possibility is such as this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana grants all of your permanents the power to be tapped for any color mana — which covers each creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered regarding accelerating your resources, yet what closes out the game in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its stats are both equal to how many lands you have, and it makes each creature you own Forests along with their original types. In other words, all your creatures in play can tap for two G by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, P/T are based on how many lands you have).

Nissa works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability allows Forest lands produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in each one produce triple green.) One loyalty ability acts as a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, renders your entire land base immune to destruction and lets you draw out every Forest left in the deck. If you can actually activate this power, this typically means the game ends.

The cub is a must-have for all green Avatar deck built around earthbend. When branching into red and green, consider Bumi. This card features level 4 earthbending, and if he deals combat damage to an opponent, all land creatures become untapped and may attack once more. Even though Bumi has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the sought-after card from this expansion.