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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar won’t hit the general market until later this week, but due to early access events recently, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub attracted significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness requiring G and 1 mana, the card features the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the best within the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage here lies in its second ability: Each time you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

When first listed, the card sold at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, yet, the market price escalated to $49.66 with at least one listed for sale at $60.00. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Mostly due to the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

When it arrives the board, Badgermole Cub transforms a land so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, if it is not removed, each affected land produces twice the mana — plus mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

An ideal partner to combine with includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces a green resource. But many creatures that make mana in the game. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon an enormous pricey creature on the board within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on from that point.

By incorporating a secondary color using this method, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks which produce all five colors. Another card, this powerful dryad enables playing an additional land every round as well as makes your entire land base so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying for example a card called A Realm Reborn, which for six mana provides all of your permanents the capacity to be tapped for any color mana — including each creature you have on the board.

The cub might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, however what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Its stats are set by how many lands you have, plus it turns your non-token creatures Forests along with their original types. This means, every single creature you control may generate two green mana if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from a high land count (like Ashaya, its power and toughness match how many lands you have).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. Her static effect allows every Forest generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, so those lands yield three G.) Her plus ability acts as an early earthbend, placing counters on a land, which is great though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. The minus ability, however, grants each land you control immune to destruction enabling you to put onto the battlefield every Forest left in your deck. Once you trigger this power, it almost certainly you win.

The cub is a must-have for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies built around earthbend. By including Gruul colors, you can use Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and when he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land are ready again and can attack again. Although this card has emerged as a popular Commander choice, this small creature will surely stay among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the Avatar set.