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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion will not get a wider release in the coming days, yet following early access events recently, one cheap green card has already exploded in value.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub garnered a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at G and 1 mana, the card features level 1 earthbending (arguably the most effective among the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk in its design lies in an additional effect: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, this card could be purchased below $30. Post-prerelease, yet, its value escalated to nearly $50 including listings for sale at $60.00. The reason for premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the explosive mana ramping it enables.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns one land into a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, if it is not removed, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — plus other creatures on your side that produce resources.

An ideal partner for synergy is this one-mana elf, a low-cost creature that taps to generate a green resource. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Another option costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 for two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon a massive high-cost threat on the board by round three or four. The situation escalates rapidly by maintaining dominance after that.

When adding another color with this approach, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that can make all five colors. And something like a useful enchantment creature lets you play another terrain every round AND makes every land you control into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment provides every card you own the ability to tap and generate one mana of any color — even any creature in play.

This card could be too strong in terms of boosting mana production, yet what’s the endgame finisher with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer is Ashaya. Its power and toughness match how many lands you have, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests as well as their other types. Essentially, each creature in play is able to produce double green when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider provides a high-cost, powerful body which gains from a high land count (as with the previous card, its stats are equal to your land total).

Nissa works perfectly as a staple. Her static effect allows all Forests tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in those lands produce triple green.) Her plus ability functions like a proto-earthbend, placing counters on a land, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her ultimate, however, renders your entire land base indestructible enabling you to put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests from your library. Should you manage to use this power, it’s pretty much game over.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for all green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. When branching into red and green, you can use this legendary card. It possesses level 4 earthbending, and if damage is dealt to an opponent, land creatures untap and may attack once more. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, the cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most desired card in the Avatar set.