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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to get a wider release until later this week, yet following pre-releases recently, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in value.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub attracted widespread focus. A 2/2 priced at one green and one colorless mana, the card features level 1 earthbending (arguably the most effective within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here is another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub was available at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, yet, its value has shot up to nearly $50 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. Why are we seeing premium pricing for this little creature? Mainly because of the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

When it arrives play, this creature transforms one land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it remains on the board, those lands yields two mana instead of one — in addition to any creatures in your control that generate mana.

The obvious go-to to combine with would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. Yet many other mana generation creatures available. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get an enormous and very expensive monster into play by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

By incorporating a secondary color with this approach, examples including versatile mana producers work perfectly that generate any mana color. Another card, this powerful dryad lets you play one extra land each turn plus transforms your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana gives every card you own the capacity to tap and generate a mana of any type — which covers all creatures in play.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered in terms of accelerating your resources, yet how do you win in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness are both equal to your land count, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to other subtypes. In other words, every single creature you control can tap for two G by tapping.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with a high land count (like Ashaya, its stats are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities causes every Forest produce extra green. (If you have the cub, so each one produce triple green.) Her main ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, adding counters on terrain, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbending. The minus ability, though, makes your entire land base immune to destruction and lets you put onto the battlefield every Forest left in your deck. Should you manage to use this power, it almost certainly you win.

The cub is pretty much essential for all green-based Avatar strategies that use earthbend. By including red and green, there’s this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, and if it hits a player to a player, each animated land untap and may attack once more. Even though Bumi has become a popular Commander choice, this small creature is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most popular pick in the Avatar set.