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MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t get a wider release in the coming days, yet due to early access events this past weekend, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub attracted a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at G and 1 mana, the card has Earthbending 1 (arguably the strongest of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). Its key advantage here comes from its second ability: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, this card sold at around $27. Following the early events, however, its value jumped to nearly $50 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. What explains Vivi prices for this little creature? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it enables.

Upon entering the battlefield, Badgermole Cub converts one land into a creature granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, while it stays in play, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — along with any creatures on your side that produce resources.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect is this one-mana elf, an inexpensive 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. Yet numerous alternative mana dorks in the game. Another option is a higher-cost choice with stats 1/3 costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you may quickly play a very big and very expensive threat into play by round three or four. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on after that.

If you dip into another color in this strategy, options such as these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks that generate all five colors. And something like this powerful dryad enables playing another terrain per turn plus turns all of your lands so they count as all basics. You can also consider something like a card called A Realm Reborn, costing six mana provides every card you own the capacity to tap and generate any color mana — which covers each creature under your control.

The cub may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, however what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is this legendary creature. Power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests as well as other subtypes. In other words, every single creature you control is able to generate two green mana if used for mana.

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

Nissa works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities allows Forest lands produce extra green. (If you have the cub, so each one generate three green mana.) Her plus ability functions like an early earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her -8 ability, however, makes each land you control indestructible and allows you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in your deck. If you can actually activate this power, this typically means game over.

This card is nearly mandatory for all green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. By including Gruul colors, there’s this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt in combat, all land creatures become untapped and may attack once more. Even though Bumi has become a fan favorite Commander, the cub will surely stay one of, if not the most sought-after card from this expansion.