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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to become widely available before the end of the week, but after prerelease weekends recently, an affordable green creature has already exploded in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub garnered widespread focus. A 2/2 requiring a single green and one generic mana, the card features the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the most effective within the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk in its design comes from its second ability: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, yet, the going rate escalated to nearly $50 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. What explains premium pricing for this little creature? Mostly because of the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

Upon entering the board, Badgermole Cub turns one land into a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, if it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — along with mana-producing creatures on your side that generate mana.

An ideal partner to combine with is Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate one green mana. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures in the game. Another option is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, it's simple to summon a very big pricey monster into play by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling out of control with continued aggression from there.

If you dip into an additional hue using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that can make all five colors. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature lets you play an additional land per turn plus transforms all of your lands so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying such as this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment gives each permanent you control the power to be tapped for any color mana — which covers all creatures you have on the board.

This card may be OP in terms of ramping up your mana generation, but what closes out the game in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests along with their other types. This means, every single creature on your board can produce double green by tapping.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that thrives with a high land count (as with the previous card, P/T are based on how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker fits really well in this deck. Her passive ability makes Forest lands produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, that means each one produce triple green.) Her plus ability acts as a form of land animation, placing counters on terrain, handy though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, though, grants your entire land base unbreakable and lets you put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests from your library. Once you trigger the ultimate, it’s pretty much the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential for all green-based Avatar strategies built around the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red-green, consider Bumi. It possesses level 4 earthbending, and if damage is dealt in combat, land creatures untap for another attack. Even though Bumi has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the Avatar set.