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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar won’t get a wider release in the coming days, however following prerelease weekends over the last few days, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in market worth.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. A 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub has level 1 earthbending (possibly the most effective within the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here lies in another power: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub was available at around $27. Following the early events, yet, the going rate jumped to nearly $50 including listings for sale at $60.00. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Primarily due to the rapid resource generation it enables.

When it arrives the board, this creature turns a terrain card so it becomes a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, if it stays in play, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to any creatures in your control which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to to combine with would be Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces G mana. But there are plenty of creatures that make mana out there. Another option is a more expensive alternative with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value instead.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, it's simple to summon an enormous high-cost threat into play early in the game. And things just keep spiraling exponentially if you keep the pressure on from there.

If you dip into an additional hue in this strategy, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks that can make any color of mana. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play an additional land every round as well as makes your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is something like this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment gives each permanent you control the ability to tap and generate a mana of any type — even each creature you have on the board.

The cub may be OP regarding ramping up your mana generation, yet what closes out the game for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice has been Ashaya. Its stats are set by how many lands you have, plus it turns your non-token creatures to be Forests as well as their original types. In other words, all your creatures you control can produce double green when tapped.

Another creature is a costly, large threat that benefits from a high land count (like Ashaya, its stats are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities allows Forest lands produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, so those lands produce triple green.) Her main ability functions like an early earthbend, adding counters on a land, which is great but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, however, grants all of your lands unbreakable and lets you search for all the remaining forests in your deck. Should you manage to use this power, it almost certainly game over.

The cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. When branching into red-green, you can use Bumi. This card features earthbend 4, and when he deals combat damage to a player, all land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. While that version has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, the cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the desired card in the collaboration.