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MTG’s collaboration with Avatar won’t get a wider release before the end of the week, but after prerelease weekends over the last few days, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in market worth.

Even during previews, this small creature garnered significant interest. A 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub features the Earthbend 1 ability (possibly the strongest within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). Its key advantage with this card is its second ability: Each time you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, the card was available at around $27. Following the early events, yet, the going rate jumped above $45 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mostly due to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

As it hits play, Badgermole Cub turns a terrain card into a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it is not removed, those lands yields two mana instead of one — along with any creatures you have that generate mana.

The obvious go-to to combine with would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for one green mana. However many alternative mana dorks in the game. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get a very big high-cost threat on the board by round three or four. The situation escalates out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into a secondary color using this method, examples including these mana-fixing creatures work perfectly that generate any mana color. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put an additional land every round plus makes all of your lands into every basic land type. Another possibility is such as a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment gives every card you own the ability to be tapped for one mana of any color — even any creature you have on the board.

This card might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, but what closes out the game with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer is Ashaya. Power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures Forests as well as other subtypes. In other words, every single creature in play may tap for two G by tapping.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body which gains from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness match how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities makes every Forest produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means those lands generate three green mana.) Her plus ability is essentially an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbending. Her ultimate, though, makes each land you control unbreakable and allows you to draw out your remaining Forests from your library. Once you trigger the ultimate, it almost certainly the game ends.

This card is a must-have for all decks using green and Avatar built around the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red-green, consider Bumi Unleashed. He has 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 popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the popular pick in the collaboration.