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MTG’s special Avatar expansion will not hit the general market in the coming days, however following pre-releases over the last few days, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in price.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub garnered widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub includes level 1 earthbending (perhaps the most effective of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon in its design comes from another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, this card could be purchased for $26.98. Post-prerelease, though, the going rate has shot up to $49.66 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.

As it hits the battlefield, the cub turns one land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, as long as it is not removed, those lands produces twice the mana — plus other creatures on your side that produce resources.

The obvious go-to to combine with would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate G mana. But numerous alternative mana dorks out there. Another option costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, you may quickly play a massive and very expensive creature into play early in the game. The situation escalates out of control if you keep the pressure on from that point.

By incorporating a secondary color in this strategy, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate any color of mana. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing an additional land every round AND makes every land you control providing all land types. Another possibility is for example a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment grants all of your permanents the ability to produce one mana of any color — which covers any creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong when it comes to boosting mana production, however how do you win in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness are set by how many lands you have, plus it turns each creature you own into Forests as well as their other types. In other words, every single creature in play can tap for two G when tapped.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, P/T are equal to your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World 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 acts as a proto-earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, which is great but does not overlap with the cub's ability. The minus ability, on the other hand, grants your entire land base indestructible and allows you to search for all the remaining forests from your library. If you can actually activate the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.

The cub is nearly mandatory for all green-based Avatar strategies focusing on earthbend. If you dip into red-green, consider Bumi. It possesses earthbend 4, and when he deals combat damage in combat, land creatures become untapped and can attack again. Although this card is a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the desired card from this expansion.