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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar will not hit the general market until later this week, yet after pre-releases this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness requiring G and 1 mana, the card features the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the strongest among the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here lies in its second ability: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, this card was available at around $27. Post-prerelease, yet, the going rate jumped above $45 with at least one listed as high as $60. The reason for such high costs on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

When it arrives the board, Badgermole Cub converts a terrain card so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it remains on the board, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — plus other creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice to combine with would be Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces G mana. However numerous creatures that make mana in the game. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 for two mana in comparison.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a very big and very expensive monster into play within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on from that point.

By incorporating another color using this method, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate all five colors. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put another terrain every round plus turns all of your lands so they count as all basics. You can also consider such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment provides all of your permanents the ability to produce one mana of any color — which covers any creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong in terms of ramping up your mana generation, however what closes out the game with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer already is this legendary creature. Its stats match your land count, and it makes your non-token creatures to be Forests as well as their other types. In other words, each creature on your board can generate two green mana by tapping.

This additional option is a costly, large threat that thrives with lots of lands (like Ashaya, its power and toughness match how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit in this deck. Her static effect makes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, so those lands yield three G.) One loyalty ability functions like a proto-earthbend, adding counters on terrain, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her -8 ability, though, makes your entire land base indestructible and allows you to draw out every Forest left from your library. Should you manage to use the ultimate, it’s pretty much the game ends.

The cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of decks using green and Avatar built around the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red-green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. This card features level 4 earthbending, plus if damage is dealt to a player, each animated land become untapped for another attack. While that version has become a beloved leader, this small creature will surely stay one of the most, maybe the sought-after card from this expansion.