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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar will not become widely available until later this week, however following pre-releases this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in market worth.

Even during previews, this small creature drew widespread focus. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, it features Earthbending 1 (perhaps the strongest within the elemental mechanics available). The real boon here lies in its second ability: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, however, the market price has shot up to nearly $50 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

When it arrives the battlefield, the cub converts a land into a creature that has earthbending. And with that second ability, as long as it is not removed, each affected land produces twice the mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures you have that produce resources.

The obvious go-to to combine with would be this one-mana elf, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate a green resource. Yet many creatures that make mana available. Another option is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a massive pricey monster into play by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression from there.

If you dip into another color in this strategy, options such as these mana-fixing creatures work perfectly that can make any mana color. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play one extra land per turn plus makes every land you control providing all land types. You can also consider such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment grants every card you own the ability to produce any color mana — even each creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong in terms of accelerating your resources, but what closes out the game in such a strategy? An often-seen solution already is this legendary creature. Power and toughness are both equal to the number of lands you control, plus it turns each creature you own into Forests along with their other types. In other words, all your creatures you control can tap for two G if used for mana.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that benefits from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its stats are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect makes all Forests produce extra green. (If you have the cub, this results in those lands generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability acts as a proto-earthbend, placing counters on terrain, which is great though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. The minus ability, however, renders each land you control unbreakable enabling you to search for every Forest left in your deck. Should you manage to use that ability, this typically means you win.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential in any green Avatar deck that use earthbend. When branching into red-green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. He has level 4 earthbending, and if damage is dealt to a player, land creatures become untapped for another attack. Although this card has become a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the popular pick from this expansion.