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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to hit the general market before the end of the week, but after early access events this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, the card has level 1 earthbending (possibly the best among the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage with this card lies in its second ability: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub was available below $30. After the pre-release weekend, however, its value has shot up above $45 with at least one listed as high as $60. Why are we seeing premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mainly thanks to the rapid resource generation it enables.

Upon entering the board, this creature transforms a land into a creature granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it is not removed, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — in addition to any creatures in your control that generate mana.

An ideal partner for maximum effect is Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate a green resource. Yet there are plenty of creatures that make mana in the game. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more with stats 1/3 for two mana as an alternative.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, you may quickly play a massive high-cost monster on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates out of control by maintaining dominance after that.

When adding an additional hue in this strategy, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate all five colors. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature allows you to put one extra land per turn plus transforms your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment grants all of your permanents the ability to tap and generate one mana of any color — including each creature in play.

The cub could be too strong regarding boosting mana production, yet how do you win in such a strategy? An often-seen solution already is Ashaya. Power and toughness are set by your land count, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures into Forests in addition to their other types. In other words, all your creatures on your board can tap for two G by tapping.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body that thrives with lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, its stats are based on how many lands you have).

Nissa works perfectly as a staple. One of her abilities allows every Forest generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, so each one produce triple green.) Her main ability acts as an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, handy though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. The minus ability, however, renders your entire land base indestructible and allows you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in the deck. If you can actually activate this power, it’s pretty much the game ends.

The cub is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. By including red and green, there’s this legendary card. This card features level 4 earthbending, and when he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land are ready again for another attack. Even though Bumi has emerged as a beloved leader, this small creature is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most sought-after card in the collaboration.