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MTG’s collaboration with Avatar will not hit the general market until later this week, however following pre-releases recently, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in price.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted widespread focus. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub has Earthbending 1 (perhaps the best of the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage here comes from another power: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, the card was available for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, though, the market price escalated above $45 including listings priced at sixty dollars. What explains such high costs for this little creature? Mostly because of the rapid resource generation it provides.

When it arrives the board, Badgermole Cub transforms a land so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, if it is not removed, every earthbent land generates double mana — along with any creatures on your side that produce resources.

The obvious go-to to combine with is Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for G mana. But there are plenty of 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.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get a very big pricey creature into play early in the game. Momentum builds exponentially if you keep the pressure on from there.

When adding another color with this approach, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks that generate any mana color. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature enables playing an additional land per turn plus turns all of your lands into every basic land type. It's also worth trying something like a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment gives all of your permanents the capacity to be tapped for any color mana — even any creature under your control.

The cub might seem overpowered regarding boosting mana production, however how do you win in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya. Power and toughness are set by your land count, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests as well as other subtypes. Essentially, all your creatures on your board is able to generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from a high land count (similar to Ashaya, its stats are equal to how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker is an excellent fit as a staple. Her static effect causes every Forest tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, this results in those lands generate three green mana.) Her plus ability is essentially a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbending. Her ultimate, however, grants your entire land base immune to destruction enabling you to search for all the remaining forests in your deck. If you can actually activate this power, it’s pretty much you win.

This card is nearly mandatory in any green-based Avatar strategies built around earthbend. By including red-green, you can use this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt in combat, land creatures are ready again for another attack. While that version has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the popular pick in the Avatar set.