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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set will not become widely available before the end of the week, but following pre-releases recently, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in value.

Even during previews, this small creature drew significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness that costs G and 1 mana, the card features Earthbending 1 (arguably the strongest among the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage in its design lies in another power: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

Initially, this card sold at around $27. Post-prerelease, however, its value escalated above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. What explains premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mostly because of the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

When it arrives the battlefield, the cub turns a land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it is not removed, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures in your control that generate mana.

An ideal partner for maximum effect is this one-mana elf, an inexpensive 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. But many alternative mana dorks available. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature for two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a massive pricey threat on the battlefield within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling out of control if you keep the pressure on from there.

If you dip into a secondary color with this approach, options such as versatile mana producers are all great options that generate all five colors. And something like a useful enchantment creature lets you play another terrain each turn AND transforms all of your lands so they count as all basics. You can also consider such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment provides all of your permanents the ability to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers all creatures you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub may be OP regarding ramping up your mana generation, however what closes out the game with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer is this legendary creature. Its stats are both equal to your land count, plus it turns your non-token creatures to be Forests along with their other types. In other words, each creature you control can generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, its stats match the number of lands you control).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well in this deck. Her passive ability allows every Forest generate an additional green mana. (Combined with earthbend, so those lands produce triple green.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, placing counters on terrain, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbend. The minus ability, though, grants each land you control unbreakable and allows you to draw out all the remaining forests in your deck. Once you trigger that ability, it’s pretty much the game ends.

This card is a must-have for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies built around the earthbend mechanic. When branching into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi. He has earthbend 4, plus if he deals combat damage in combat, land creatures become untapped and may attack once more. Even though Bumi has become a fan favorite Commander, this small creature is set to be one of, if not the most desired card from this expansion.