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MTG’s special Avatar expansion will not become widely available until later this week, however following early access events this past weekend, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub attracted widespread focus. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at G and 1 mana, it features the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the most effective within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here is an additional effect: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, this card could be purchased for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, yet, the market price escalated to nearly $50 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. The reason for such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mostly due to the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

Upon entering play, the cub converts a land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it is not removed, those lands produces twice the mana — along with other creatures on your side that produce resources.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces G mana. However there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 for two mana instead.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, it's simple to summon an enormous pricey monster into play within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on from that point.

When adding another color in this strategy, cards like versatile mana producers work perfectly that can make all five colors. And something like this powerful dryad allows you to put another terrain every round AND turns every land you control into every basic land type. Another possibility is for example this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment gives all of your permanents the capacity to be tapped for one mana of any color — which covers any creature in play.

This card could be too strong when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, however how do you win in such a strategy? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Its power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures Forests as well as their other types. In other words, each creature in play can produce double green when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that thrives with many terrain cards (as with the previous card, P/T are equal to how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities makes every Forest tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, this results in those lands yield three G.) One loyalty ability is essentially a form of land animation, placing counters to a noncreature land, which is great but does not overlap with the cub's ability. The minus ability, however, makes each land you control indestructible enabling you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests from your library. If you can actually activate the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory in any green-based Avatar strategies focusing on earthbend. By including red and green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. It possesses earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to an opponent, land creatures are ready again and can attack again. Although this card is a popular Commander choice, this small creature is set to be among the top, possibly the popular pick in the collaboration.