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MTG’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to hit the general market until later this week, yet following early access events recently, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

Even during previews, the earthbending cub garnered a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub features Earthbending 1 (perhaps the most effective of the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk here comes from its second ability: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, the card could be purchased at around $27. Post-prerelease, yet, its value has shot up above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. What explains premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mostly due to the rapid resource generation it enables.

When it arrives the battlefield, this creature turns a land to a creature land granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, if it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to any creatures in your control that generate mana.

The obvious go-to for synergy is this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. However there are plenty of creatures that make mana in the game. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, it's simple to summon an enormous and very expensive monster on the battlefield by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling exponentially by maintaining dominance from that point.

By incorporating an additional hue in this strategy, cards like these mana-fixing creatures work perfectly that generate any color of mana. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put an additional land every round AND makes every land you control providing all land types. Another possibility is something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana provides each permanent you control the capacity to produce any color mana — including all creatures under your control.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to boosting mana production, however what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer has been Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness match how many lands you have, plus it turns each creature you own into Forests along with other subtypes. This means, all your creatures on your board can generate two green mana by tapping.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body which gains from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, P/T are based on your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability makes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (Combined with earthbend, that means all earthbend forests produce triple green.) Her main ability functions like a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. The minus ability, however, grants each land you control immune to destruction and allows you to draw out your remaining Forests in your deck. Once you trigger that ability, it almost certainly game over.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck that use earthbend. If you dip into red-green, you can use Bumi. He has earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to a player, each animated land untap and may attack once more. Although this card has emerged as a beloved leader, this small creature is set to be among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the collaboration.