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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar will not get a wider release before the end of the week, however due to prerelease weekends this past weekend, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in price.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub garnered a lot of attention. A 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, the card features the Earthbend 1 ability (possibly the most effective within the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage with this card lies in an additional effect: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub could be purchased below $30. Post-prerelease, yet, its value has shot up to $49.66 with at least one listed as high as $60. Why are we seeing premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it enables.

As it hits the board, the cub converts one land into a creature that has earthbending. And with that second ability, while it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures in your control that produce resources.

A clear choice to combine with would be this one-mana elf, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for a green resource. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, you can easily get a massive and very expensive threat on the battlefield within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling out of control if you keep the pressure on from that point.

When adding another color in this strategy, cards like versatile mana producers are all great options that generate any mana color. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put an additional land each turn plus transforms your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider such as this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment provides every card you own the power to produce one mana of any color — which covers all creatures you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub may be OP regarding ramping up your mana generation, yet what’s the endgame finisher with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer already is this legendary creature. Its stats match how many lands you have, and it changes your non-token creatures into Forests along with other subtypes. In other words, every single creature you control can tap for two G when tapped.

Another creature is a costly, large threat that thrives with lots of lands (like Ashaya, its power and toughness are equal to how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a staple. Her static effect makes Forest lands produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, so all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her plus ability functions like a form of land animation, adding counters on terrain, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her -8 ability, though, renders your entire land base immune to destruction and lets you draw out your remaining Forests in the deck. Should you manage to use that ability, it almost certainly the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have in any green Avatar deck that use earthbend. If you dip into red and green, consider Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and when it hits a player to an opponent, all land creatures become untapped and can attack again. While that version has become a popular Commander choice, this small creature will surely stay one of the most, maybe the popular pick from this expansion.