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MTG’s collaboration with Avatar won’t get a wider release until later this week, yet due to prerelease weekends this past weekend, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in value.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, the card includes level 1 earthbending (possibly the strongest within the elemental mechanics available). The major perk here is another power: If you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, the card could be purchased at around $27. Following the early events, however, the going rate jumped above $45 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mostly because of the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns one land into a creature granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, while it stays in play, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to any creatures on your side that generate mana.

An ideal partner to combine with would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. However numerous alternative mana dorks available. This particular druid is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, you can easily get a massive and very expensive threat on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on from that point.

By incorporating a secondary color in this strategy, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that can make any mana color. And something like a useful enchantment creature lets you play an additional land every round AND makes every land you control so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment provides all of your permanents the power to tap and generate a mana of any type — even any creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered regarding boosting mana production, however how do you win with this archetype? A common and powerful choice has been Ashaya. Its power and toughness are both equal to the number of lands you control, and it changes each creature you own to be Forests as well as their original types. Essentially, each creature you control is able to tap for two G when tapped.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body which gains from a high land count (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are equal to the number of lands you control).

Nissa works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect causes Forest lands tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, so all earthbend forests produce triple green.) Her plus ability functions like a proto-earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, which is great but does not overlap with earthbend. The minus ability, however, grants each land you control indestructible and lets you draw out every Forest left in the deck. Should you manage to use this power, it almost certainly game over.

This card is a must-have for all decks using green and Avatar that use earthbend. If you dip into red-green, you can use this legendary card. This card features earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to a player, all land creatures untap and may attack once more. While that version is a popular Commander choice, this small creature is set to be among the top, possibly the popular pick from this expansion.