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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion will not hit the general market in the coming days, yet following pre-releases recently, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in value.

Even during previews, this small creature drew a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, the card features Earthbending 1 (perhaps the strongest of the four bending abilities in the set). The real boon with this card lies in an additional effect: Each time you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, this card was available below $30. Post-prerelease, however, the market price jumped above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing such high costs for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

Upon entering the board, this creature transforms a terrain card so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it remains on the board, those lands yields two mana instead of one — in addition to any creatures on your side that generate mana.

An ideal partner for maximum effect is this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. However many alternative mana dorks in the game. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

Deploying terrain, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, it's simple to summon a very big pricey creature into play within a few turns. The situation escalates exponentially by maintaining dominance from there.

When adding an additional hue using this method, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that generate all five colors. And something like a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land each turn AND makes every land you control so they count as all basics. Another possibility is such as this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana grants each permanent you control the ability to produce one mana of any color — which covers each creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, however what closes out the game for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer is this legendary creature. Power and toughness match how many lands you have, and it makes each creature you own into Forests as well as their original types. Essentially, all your creatures in play can tap for two G by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that thrives with many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness match the number of lands you control).

Nissa is an excellent fit as a staple. One of her abilities makes all Forests produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, this results in each one yield three G.) Her main ability functions like a proto-earthbend, adding counters on terrain, which is great but it isn't redundant with earthbending. Her -8 ability, however, grants your entire land base unbreakable enabling you to draw out your remaining Forests in your deck. Should you manage to use this power, this typically means the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential for any kind of green Avatar deck focusing on the earthbend mechanic. When branching into red-green, consider this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, and when he deals combat damage to an opponent, land creatures become untapped and may attack once more. Even though Bumi is a fan favorite Commander, this small creature will surely stay among the top, possibly the popular pick in the collaboration.