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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar won’t hit the general market before the end of the week, yet following early access events this past weekend, an affordable green creature has already exploded in value.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub garnered widespread focus. A 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, it features level 1 earthbending (perhaps the best among the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk with this card lies in its second ability: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, this card was available for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, though, its value has shot up to nearly $50 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for such high costs for this cute lil guy? Primarily because of the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

As it hits the board, Badgermole Cub transforms a terrain card into a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, if it stays in play, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — along with mana-producing creatures on your side that generate mana.

An ideal partner to combine with would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate one green mana. But numerous creatures that make mana in the game. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature for two mana as an alternative.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, it's simple to summon an enormous and very expensive monster on the board within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression from that point.

By incorporating an additional hue with this approach, options such as versatile mana producers work perfectly that generate any mana color. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put an additional land per turn AND turns all of your lands providing all land types. You can also consider something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana grants every card you own the ability to be tapped for any color mana — including all creatures in play.

Badgermole Cub may be OP when it comes to accelerating your resources, yet what closes out the game for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice has been Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness are set by your land count, and it changes your non-token creatures Forests in addition to other subtypes. This means, each creature on your board is able to produce double green if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with many terrain cards (as with the previous card, P/T are based on your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly in this deck. Her passive ability allows every Forest tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, that means all earthbend forests produce triple green.) One loyalty ability functions like an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbend. The minus ability, however, renders your entire land base unbreakable enabling you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in the deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, this typically means you win.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for all green-based Avatar strategies that use earthbend. By including red-green, there’s this legendary card. This card features earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land are ready again and can attack again. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, the cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most sought-after card in the collaboration.