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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set won’t become widely available before the end of the week, however due to pre-releases recently, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub garnered significant interest. A 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, it features level 1 earthbending (perhaps the strongest of the elemental mechanics available). The real boon with this card lies in an additional effect: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub sold below $30. Post-prerelease, though, the market price escalated to nearly $50 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing such high costs on this adorable card? Primarily because of the explosive mana ramping it enables.

As it hits play, the cub turns a terrain card to a creature land that has earthbending. And with that second ability, as long as it is not removed, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — in addition to other creatures on your side which tap for mana.

An ideal partner to combine with is the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate G mana. But there are plenty of alternative mana dorks in the game. This particular druid is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get an enormous pricey creature on the board within a few turns. Momentum builds exponentially by maintaining dominance from that point.

If you dip into a secondary color using this method, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks that generate all five colors. Another card, this powerful dryad lets you play one extra land each turn AND turns all of your lands into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like a card called A Realm Reborn, costing six mana grants every card you own the power to tap and generate any color mana — even all creatures under your control.

Badgermole Cub may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, however how do you win in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya. Power and toughness are set by your land count, and it makes your non-token creatures Forests as well as their original types. Essentially, each creature you control may tap for two G when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that thrives with lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, P/T match how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly in this deck. One of her abilities allows Forest lands produce extra green. (If you have the cub, so each one produce triple green.) One loyalty ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her ultimate, on the other hand, renders your entire land base unbreakable and allows you to draw out your remaining Forests in your deck. If you can actually activate that ability, it almost certainly game over.

This card is pretty much essential in any green Avatar deck focusing on earthbend. By including red and green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. He has level 4 earthbending, and if he deals combat damage in combat, all land creatures become untapped and can attack again. Even though Bumi is a beloved leader, the cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most popular pick in the Avatar set.