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Magic: The Gathering’s Avatar crossover set won’t get a wider release until later this week, yet due to pre-releases over the last few days, one cheap green card experienced a surge in value.

Even during previews, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. A 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, it includes the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the most effective of the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage with this card lies in its second ability: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub was available at around $27. Following the early events, however, the market price jumped above $45 with at least one listed as high as $60. What explains Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Primarily because of the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

As it hits play, Badgermole Cub turns a land into a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it stays in play, those lands generates double mana — plus any creatures you have that produce resources.

The obvious go-to for synergy is Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces G mana. However numerous other mana generation creatures available. Another option is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, you can easily get a massive and very expensive threat on the board by round three or four. Momentum builds rapidly with continued aggression from that point.

If you dip into another color in this strategy, cards like versatile mana producers are excellent picks that generate any color of mana. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play an additional land per turn as well as transforms all of your lands so they count as all basics. You can also consider such as a card called A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants every card you own the power to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers each creature you have on the board.

The cub may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, yet how do you win for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya. Power and toughness are set by the number of lands you control, and it makes your non-token creatures Forests along with their other types. Essentially, every single creature you control is able to tap for two G when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from a high land count (as with the previous card, P/T are based on the number of lands you control).

This Planeswalker is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect causes every Forest tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, that means those lands yield three G.) Her main ability functions like a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, which is great but it isn't redundant with earthbending. The minus ability, though, grants your entire land base immune to destruction enabling you to put onto the battlefield every Forest left from your library. Should you manage to use this power, it’s pretty much game over.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for all decks using green and Avatar that use earthbend. When branching into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi. This card features earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to a player, land creatures are ready again and can attack again. While that version has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be among the top, possibly the sought-after card from this expansion.