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MTG’s collaboration with Avatar won’t get a wider release in the coming days, but due to prerelease weekends this past weekend, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in price.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub garnered a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness requiring G and 1 mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the strongest within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). Its key advantage here lies in its second ability: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, this card could be purchased at around $27. Following the early events, however, the going rate has shot up above $45 including listings for sale at $60.00. What explains such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mainly thanks to the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

Upon entering the battlefield, this creature transforms one land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it stays in play, those lands yields two mana instead of one — plus mana-producing creatures in your control that produce resources.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate a green resource. However many alternative mana dorks available. Another option is a more expensive alternative with stats 1/3 for two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a very big high-cost monster into play by round three or four. The situation escalates rapidly with continued aggression after that.

By incorporating an additional hue in this strategy, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that generate any color of mana. Another card, this powerful dryad allows you to put another terrain each turn AND turns every land you control into every basic land type. It's also worth trying something like a card called A Realm Reborn, which for six mana gives all of your permanents the power to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers any creature in play.

The cub could be too strong when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, however how do you win in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Its stats match the number of lands you control, plus it turns each creature you own Forests along with their original types. In other words, each creature on your board is able to generate two green mana if used for mana.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from a high land count (as with the previous card, P/T match how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly as a staple. One of her abilities makes every Forest produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, this results in each one yield three G.) Her plus ability acts as a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbending. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, grants each land you control unbreakable and lets you draw out all the remaining forests in your deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it almost certainly game over.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have in any green-based Avatar strategies that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, plus if it hits a player in combat, all land creatures are ready again for another attack. Although this card has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cub is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the desired card from this expansion.