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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to become widely available in the coming days, however due to early access events recently, an affordable green creature has already exploded in price.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub garnered significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub includes level 1 earthbending (perhaps the most effective of the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage with this card comes from another power: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, the card could be purchased for $26.98. Post-prerelease, however, its value has shot up above $45 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for such high costs for this little creature? Primarily due to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub transforms a terrain card into a creature granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, if it is not removed, each affected land generates double mana — along with any creatures on your side which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for synergy includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces G mana. However many other mana generation creatures in the game. Another option is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana in comparison.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a very big high-cost threat on the battlefield by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling exponentially with continued aggression from there.

When adding another color in this strategy, options such as these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that generate any mana color. Additionally, this powerful dryad enables playing one extra land per turn plus turns all of your lands into every basic land type. You can also consider for example this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana provides each permanent you control the capacity to produce any color mana — including any creature in play.

The cub might seem overpowered when it comes to accelerating your resources, but what closes out the game with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer has been Ashaya. Its stats match the number of lands you control, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures Forests as well as other subtypes. Essentially, every single creature you control may tap for two G by tapping.

This additional option is a costly, large threat that benefits from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, its power and toughness are equal to the number of lands you control).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a staple. One of her abilities causes all Forests produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, this results in those lands yield three G.) One loyalty ability is essentially an early earthbend, placing counters on terrain, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbending. Her ultimate, however, renders all of your lands immune to destruction and lets you draw out your remaining Forests in the deck. Should you manage to use this power, it almost certainly game over.

The cub is pretty much essential for any kind of green Avatar deck focusing on the earthbend mechanic. By including Gruul colors, you can use Bumi Unleashed. It possesses level 4 earthbending, and when he deals combat damage to a player, each animated land become untapped and may attack once more. While that version has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the popular pick from this expansion.