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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar won’t hit the general market until later this week, but after pre-releases this past weekend, an affordable green creature has already exploded in market worth.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub attracted widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness requiring a single green and one generic mana, it has level 1 earthbending (possibly the best within the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage with this card is its second ability: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

When first listed, the card could be purchased below $30. After the pre-release weekend, however, the market price escalated to nearly $50 with at least one listed as high as $60. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Primarily thanks to the rapid resource generation it enables.

As it hits play, this creature transforms a land into a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, while it is not removed, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — along with other creatures in your control that generate mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect includes the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 which can be tapped for G mana. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, you can easily get a massive pricey threat on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on from that point.

If you dip into another color with this approach, options such as versatile mana producers work perfectly that generate any color of mana. Additionally, this powerful dryad allows you to put another terrain every round as well as makes all of your lands so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying something like this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana grants all of your permanents the power to be tapped for a mana of any type — even each creature under your control.

The cub could be too strong regarding boosting mana production, yet how do you win in such a strategy? An often-seen solution has been Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness match how many lands you have, and it changes your non-token creatures to be Forests as well as other subtypes. Essentially, each creature you control can produce double green when tapped.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with lots of lands (as with the previous card, its stats match your land total).

This Planeswalker works perfectly in this deck. One of her abilities causes Forest lands produce extra green. (If you have the cub, that means all earthbend forests yield three G.) One loyalty ability functions like a form of land animation, placing counters on a land, which is great but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, renders each land you control unbreakable enabling you to draw out your remaining Forests from your library. Once you trigger this power, it almost certainly you win.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. When branching into red-green, there’s this legendary card. This card features earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to a player, land creatures untap and can attack again. Even though Bumi has become a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the desired card from this expansion.