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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar will not hit the general market until later this week, but after early access events over the last few days, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in market worth.

Even during previews, this small creature garnered a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at a single green and one generic mana, the card has Earthbending 1 (perhaps the strongest among the four bending abilities in the set). The real boon here is its second ability: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, the card could be purchased at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, though, its value escalated to $49.66 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. The reason for premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the explosive mana ramping it provides.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns a terrain card to a creature land with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it is not removed, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — plus other creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for a green resource. But numerous other mana generation creatures in the game. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value in comparison.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, you can easily get a very big pricey threat into play by round three or four. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on from there.

If you dip into an additional hue using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that can make any color of mana. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play an additional land every round AND transforms all of your lands so they count as all basics. Another possibility is such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana grants all of your permanents the power to tap and generate any color mana — which covers all creatures under your control.

The cub may be OP in terms of ramping up your mana generation, yet what closes out the game with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness are both equal to your land count, and it changes your non-token creatures into Forests as well as their original types. This means, every single creature in play may generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are equal to your land total).

This Planeswalker fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities makes Forest lands produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, so those lands generate three green mana.) Her plus ability functions like an early earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, which is great but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, though, makes each land you control indestructible and lets you search for all the remaining forests in the deck. Should you manage to use the ultimate, it almost certainly the game ends.

The cub is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck built around earthbend. If you dip into Gruul colors, consider Bumi Unleashed. He has level 4 earthbending, plus if he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land are ready again for another attack. Although this card has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be among the top, possibly the popular pick in the Avatar set.