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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to become widely available in the coming days, however after pre-releases this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness priced at a single green and one generic mana, it features the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the strongest of the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage in its design lies in another power: If you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, the card sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, yet, its value escalated to $49.66 including listings as high as $60. The reason for premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the rapid resource generation it provides.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns a land so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, while it is not removed, each affected land generates double mana — plus any creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice for synergy would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate one green mana. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana as an alternative.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a massive high-cost threat on the battlefield by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling out of control with continued aggression from there.

When adding an additional hue using this method, cards like versatile mana producers are all great options which produce all five colors. Another card, a useful enchantment creature allows you to put an additional land every round plus transforms all of your lands so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana provides all of your permanents the power to tap and generate any color mana — which covers all creatures in play.

This card may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, however what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? An often-seen solution has been Ashaya. Power and toughness are set by your land count, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests as well as their other types. This means, all your creatures on your board may tap for two G by tapping.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from a high land count (like Ashaya, P/T match how many lands you have).

Nissa works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect causes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, so each one yield three G.) One loyalty ability acts as a form of land animation, adding counters to a noncreature land, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her ultimate, though, grants all of your lands unbreakable enabling you to search for every Forest left from your library. Once you trigger this power, it’s pretty much the game ends.

The cub is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck that use the earthbend mechanic. By including red-green, consider Bumi. This card features earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land untap for another attack. While that version has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub is set to be among the top, possibly the sought-after card from this expansion.