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MTG’s collaboration with Avatar will not get a wider release until later this week, yet after prerelease weekends this past weekend, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub drew a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, it features Earthbending 1 (arguably the most effective within the elemental mechanics available). The real boon with this card is another power: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

Initially, this card could be purchased at around $27. Following the early events, however, its value escalated to nearly $50 including listings for sale at $60.00. The reason for premium pricing on this adorable card? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

As it hits the battlefield, this creature transforms one land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it stays in play, those lands generates double mana — plus other creatures you have which tap for mana.

An ideal partner for maximum effect includes Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate G mana. However many creatures that make mana out there. This particular druid costs a bit more a 1/3 creature for two mana in comparison.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you may quickly play an enormous pricey creature on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates out of control if you keep the pressure on after that.

If you dip into a secondary color using this method, cards like versatile mana producers work perfectly which produce any color of mana. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put an additional land per turn AND makes all of your lands providing all land types. Another possibility is such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana gives all of your permanents the power to produce one mana of any color — which covers all creatures in play.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong when it comes to boosting mana production, however how do you win for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is this legendary creature. Its stats are set by how many lands you have, plus it turns your non-token creatures to be Forests in addition to their other types. In other words, every single creature you control is able to generate two green mana if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from a high land count (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa fits really well as a staple. Her passive ability makes all Forests produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her plus ability functions like an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, handy but does not overlap with earthbend. Her -8 ability, however, makes all of your lands unbreakable and lets you put onto the battlefield every Forest left from your library. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it’s pretty much game over.

The cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of green Avatar deck focusing on earthbend. If you dip into red and green, you can use this legendary card. This card features earthbend 4, and if damage is dealt in combat, each animated land are ready again for another attack. Even though Bumi has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub is set to be among the top, possibly the popular pick from this expansion.