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MTG’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to become widely available until later this week, yet following early access events recently, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in value.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub attracted a lot of attention. A 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, the card has Earthbending 1 (possibly the best of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk in its design comes from another power: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub could be purchased below $30. Post-prerelease, however, its value jumped above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing such high costs for this little creature? Primarily thanks to the explosive mana ramping it enables.

As it hits play, the cub turns a terrain card into a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, if it remains on the board, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — along with mana-producing creatures on your side that generate mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces one green mana. However there are plenty of alternative mana dorks out there. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more with stats 1/3 for two mana in comparison.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you can easily get an enormous pricey monster into play within a few turns. The situation escalates rapidly by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into another color in this strategy, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that can make any mana color. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land each turn as well as turns every land you control into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana provides each permanent you control the capacity to tap and generate any color mana — including any creature under your control.

This card may be OP regarding accelerating your resources, however how do you win for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer has been this legendary creature. Power and toughness match how many lands you have, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures Forests in addition to other subtypes. This means, each creature you control can tap for two G by tapping.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness match how many lands you have).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities allows every Forest tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, that means all earthbend forests produce triple green.) Her plus ability is essentially an early earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, handy but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, renders your entire land base immune to destruction and lets you draw out your remaining Forests in your deck. Should you manage to use the ultimate, it’s pretty much game over.

This card is nearly mandatory in any green-based Avatar strategies focusing on earthbend. When branching into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi. He has level 4 earthbending, and if damage is dealt in combat, each animated land are ready again and may attack once more. Even though Bumi is a fan favorite Commander, this small creature will surely stay one of, if not the most desired card in the Avatar set.