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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar will not get a wider release before the end of the week, but after pre-releases recently, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub garnered significant interest. A 2/2 requiring a single green and one generic mana, the card has the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the strongest among the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon in its design comes from its second ability: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, the card could be purchased below $30. Post-prerelease, yet, the market price escalated to $49.66 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.

When it arrives the board, the cub turns a terrain card so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, as long as it remains on the board, those lands generates double mana — along with any creatures on your side that generate mana.

An ideal partner for synergy includes Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces a green resource. Yet there are plenty of creatures that make mana available. Another option is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value in comparison.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get a very big high-cost monster on the battlefield within a few turns. Momentum builds exponentially with continued aggression after that.

By incorporating another color using this method, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate any color of mana. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put one extra land every round AND turns every land you control providing all land types. You can also consider for example this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana grants each permanent you control the ability to be tapped for any color mana — including any creature in play.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to boosting mana production, but what’s the endgame finisher with this archetype? A common and powerful choice already is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness are set by your land count, and it makes each creature you own Forests in addition to their other types. This means, each creature on your board is able to produce double green by tapping.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body that thrives with many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its stats match your land total).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. Her passive ability allows all Forests tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, that means each one produce triple green.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, grants each land you control immune to destruction enabling you to put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests from your library. Once you trigger this power, this typically means the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck built around Earthbending. By including red and green, you can use Bumi. He has level 4 earthbending, plus if he deals combat damage to an opponent, land creatures become untapped and can attack again. Although this card has become a fan favorite Commander, the cub is set to be among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the collaboration.