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Magic: The Gathering’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to get a wider release until later this week, but due to prerelease weekends this past weekend, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in market worth.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub drew widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness requiring one green and one colorless mana, it has level 1 earthbending (arguably the best within the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here is its second ability: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub was available at around $27. Post-prerelease, however, the market price has shot up to nearly $50 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing Vivi prices for this little creature? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

Upon entering the battlefield, the cub transforms one land into a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, if it remains on the board, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — plus mana-producing creatures in your control that produce resources.

An ideal partner to combine with would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces one green mana. Yet there are plenty of creatures that make mana available. This particular druid costs a bit more a 1/3 creature costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, you can easily get an enormous high-cost creature on the battlefield within a few turns. Momentum builds rapidly with continued aggression after that.

If you dip into a secondary color with this approach, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options which produce all five colors. Another card, a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land each turn plus makes your entire land base into every basic land type. You can also consider such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment gives all of your permanents the ability to produce one mana of any color — even all creatures under your control.

The cub may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, yet what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? An often-seen solution is this legendary creature. Power and toughness match how many lands you have, plus it turns each creature you own into Forests in addition to their other types. Essentially, each creature on your board may tap for two G by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from lots of lands (like Ashaya, P/T are based on your land total).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities allows all Forests produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, this results in those lands yield three G.) One loyalty ability acts as a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, handy but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, however, makes all of your lands unbreakable and lets you put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in your deck. If you can actually activate that ability, it almost certainly the game ends.

The cub is pretty much essential in any decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red and green, there’s this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, plus if he deals combat damage to an opponent, land creatures untap and can attack again. Although this card has become a beloved leader, this small creature is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the collaboration.