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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion will not hit the general market before the end of the week, but due to pre-releases over the last few days, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in price.

Even during previews, the earthbending cub attracted widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub features Earthbending 1 (arguably the most effective among the elemental mechanics available). The real boon in its design is an additional effect: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, this card sold at around $27. Post-prerelease, though, its value jumped above $45 with at least one listed for sale at $60.00. Why are we seeing premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mainly because of the rapid resource generation it can produce.

Upon entering the board, this creature transforms one land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it stays in play, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — in addition to other creatures in your control which tap for mana.

A clear choice for synergy includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for a green resource. But there are plenty of creatures that make mana available. Another option costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 for two mana in comparison.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, and Badgermole Cub, you may quickly play an enormous pricey monster on the board early in the game. The situation escalates rapidly if you keep the pressure on from that point.

If you dip into another color using this method, options such as these mana-fixing creatures are all great options which produce any mana color. Another card, this powerful dryad lets you play another terrain every round AND makes all of your lands providing all land types. You can also consider something like a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment gives every card you own the power to be tapped for any color mana — even all creatures you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong in terms of boosting mana production, however how do you win for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer is Ashaya. Its power and toughness are both equal to the number of lands you control, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to other subtypes. Essentially, each creature in play is able to tap for two G by tapping.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body which gains from lots of lands (like Ashaya, its stats are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a staple. Her passive ability makes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means each one generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability acts as a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, which is great though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. The minus ability, however, makes all of your lands immune to destruction and lets you draw out all the remaining forests in the deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, this typically means you win.

This card is a must-have in any green-based Avatar strategies that use the earthbend mechanic. By including red and green, you can use Bumi. This card features earthbend 4, plus if he deals combat damage to a player, each animated land are ready again for another attack. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, the cub is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the popular pick in the collaboration.