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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set won’t hit the general market in the coming days, however after prerelease weekends over the last few days, one cheap green card has already exploded in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub drew a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub has Earthbending 1 (arguably the best within the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here lies in its second ability: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub was available at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, however, the market price escalated to nearly $50 including listings as high as $60. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Primarily because of the explosive mana ramping it enables.

Upon entering play, this creature converts a terrain card into a creature that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it is not removed, those lands generates double mana — plus any creatures on your side that generate mana.

A clear choice to combine with includes this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. However many alternative mana dorks out there. This particular druid costs a bit more with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value instead.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you can easily get a very big high-cost creature into play within a few turns. The situation escalates rapidly if you keep the pressure on after that.

When adding a secondary color with this approach, examples including these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that can make any mana color. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play an additional land every round plus makes all of your lands so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying for example this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana grants each permanent you control the power to be tapped for a mana of any type — even each creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, however how do you win in such a strategy? An often-seen solution has been this legendary creature. Power and toughness are set by your land count, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests in addition to their original types. This means, all your creatures in play is able to produce double green if used for mana.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from a high land count (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness match your land total).

Nissa is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect makes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, so all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her main ability acts as an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, which is great but does not overlap with earthbending. The minus ability, however, grants each land you control immune to destruction enabling you to draw out your remaining Forests in your deck. Should you manage to use this power, it almost certainly the game ends.

This card is nearly mandatory for all green-based Avatar strategies built around Earthbending. When branching into red-green, there’s this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, and when it hits a player to an opponent, each animated land untap for another attack. Although this card has emerged as a beloved leader, this small creature is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most popular pick in the Avatar set.