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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set won’t get a wider release until later this week, yet after early access events over the last few days, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew widespread focus. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub features level 1 earthbending (arguably the strongest of the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage in its design lies in another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, the card sold for $26.98. Following the early events, yet, the market price has shot up above $45 with at least one listed as high as $60. Why are we seeing such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly because of the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

Upon entering the battlefield, the cub turns a terrain card to a creature land with earthbend. And with that second ability, as long as it remains on the board, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — plus mana-producing creatures on your side that generate mana.

A clear choice to combine with would be this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate G mana. However many creatures that make mana available. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value instead.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a massive and very expensive creature into play within a few turns. The situation escalates exponentially with continued aggression from that point.

When adding an additional hue in this strategy, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that can make any color of mana. And something like a useful enchantment creature allows you to put an additional land every round AND transforms all of your lands into every basic land type. It's also worth trying such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants every card you own the capacity to be tapped for any color mana — which covers each creature you have on the board.

The cub might seem overpowered regarding accelerating your resources, but what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya. Power and toughness are set by how many lands you have, and it makes your non-token creatures to be Forests along with their other types. Essentially, every single creature on your board can produce double green if used for mana.

Another creature is a costly, large threat which gains from lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, P/T are based on the number of lands you control).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability allows Forest lands produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, so those lands produce triple green.) One loyalty ability is essentially a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbending. The minus ability, however, grants your entire land base indestructible and lets you draw out your remaining Forests from your library. If you can actually activate this power, it almost certainly you win.

This card is pretty much essential for all green-based Avatar strategies focusing on Earthbending. When branching into red-green, you can use Bumi. He has level 4 earthbending, and when it hits a player to an opponent, each animated land untap and can attack again. Even though Bumi has become a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the popular pick in the collaboration.