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MTG’s special Avatar expansion won’t hit the general market in the coming days, however due to prerelease weekends recently, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in price.

Even during previews, this small creature garnered widespread focus. A 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the strongest within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). Its key advantage with this card lies in another power: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, this card was available at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, yet, the market price has shot up to $49.66 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly thanks to the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

When it arrives the board, Badgermole Cub transforms a terrain card into a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it remains on the board, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — in addition to other creatures on your side that generate mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate G mana. But numerous creatures that make mana in the game. Another option costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 for two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon a very big pricey threat on the battlefield by round three or four. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on from that point.

By incorporating another color using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that can make any color of mana. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put another terrain every round AND turns every land you control into every basic land type. It's also worth trying for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana grants every card you own the ability to tap and generate any color mana — including all creatures you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong when it comes to accelerating your resources, yet what closes out the game with this archetype? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness match the number of lands you control, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests as well as their other types. Essentially, every single creature in play may produce double green if used for mana.

This additional option is a costly, large threat that thrives with a high land count (like Ashaya, its stats are based on the number of lands you control).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities causes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means those lands generate three green mana.) Her plus ability acts as an early earthbend, adding counters on a land, which is great though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, though, renders all of your lands unbreakable enabling you to draw out all the remaining forests from your library. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it almost certainly the game ends.

This card is pretty much essential in any decks using green and Avatar that use earthbend. When branching into red-green, you can use Bumi. This card features earthbend 4, plus if it hits a player to an opponent, land creatures become untapped for another attack. Even though Bumi has emerged as a popular Commander choice, this small creature will surely stay one of, if not the most sought-after card from this expansion.