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MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t get a wider release before the end of the week, however due to early access events recently, one cheap green card experienced a surge in price.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub garnered a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness that costs G and 1 mana, the card includes Earthbending 1 (arguably the best within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here is an additional effect: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, this card sold below $30. After the pre-release weekend, however, the market price jumped to nearly $50 with at least one listed for sale at $60.00. What explains premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mainly because of the rapid resource generation it provides.

As it hits the battlefield, Badgermole Cub converts a terrain card into a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, if it stays in play, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures in your control which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to to combine with is Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces one green mana. Yet numerous alternative mana dorks available. This particular druid costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 costing two mana instead.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you can easily get a very big and very expensive monster on the board early in the game. The situation escalates out of control if you keep the pressure on from there.

If you dip into an additional hue in this strategy, cards like these mana-fixing creatures work perfectly that generate all five colors. Another card, a useful enchantment creature allows you to put an additional land per turn as well as turns every land you control into every basic land type. It's also worth trying something like this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana grants each permanent you control the capacity to produce one mana of any color — which covers each creature under your control.

This card could be too strong regarding ramping up your mana generation, yet what closes out the game for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness match your land count, and it makes your non-token creatures Forests in addition to their original types. Essentially, every single creature you control can tap for two G when tapped.

This additional option is a costly, large threat that benefits from a high land count (as with the previous card, P/T match the number of lands you control).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability makes Forest lands tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, this results in each one generate three green mana.) Her main ability is essentially a form of land animation, adding counters to a noncreature land, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her ultimate, however, grants your entire land base immune to destruction and allows you to draw out every Forest left in the deck. If you can actually activate that ability, this typically means game over.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies focusing on the earthbend mechanic. When branching into red-green, consider Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land become untapped and may attack once more. While that version has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, the cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the desired card from this expansion.