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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion won’t become widely available until later this week, however after early access events over the last few days, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in market worth.

Even during previews, the earthbending cub garnered a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at G and 1 mana, the card features Earthbending 1 (perhaps the most effective among the elemental mechanics available). The major perk in its design comes from an additional effect: If you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub sold at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, yet, its value has shot up above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. What explains Vivi prices on this adorable card? Primarily due to the rapid resource generation it enables.

When it arrives the board, the cub turns one land into a creature that has earthbending. And with that second ability, if it remains on the board, those lands produces twice the mana — in addition to other creatures in your control that generate mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect includes this one-mana elf, a low-cost creature that taps to generate one green mana. Yet many other mana generation creatures in the game. Another option is a higher-cost choice with stats 1/3 costing two mana instead.

Deploying terrain, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, you may quickly play a massive pricey creature on the battlefield within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on after that.

By incorporating another color using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks which produce all five colors. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing another terrain per turn plus turns all of your lands so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment gives all of your permanents the capacity to tap and generate one mana of any color — even each creature you have on the board.

This card might seem overpowered regarding ramping up your mana generation, but how do you win with this archetype? An often-seen solution has been Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness are set by your land count, and it changes your non-token creatures Forests in addition to their other types. This means, all your creatures you control can produce double green if used for mana.

Another creature is a costly, large threat that benefits from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, P/T are based on the number of lands you control).

This Planeswalker is an excellent fit in this deck. Her static effect allows Forest lands produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means all earthbend forests generate three green mana.) Her main ability functions like a form of land animation, adding counters on terrain, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, makes your entire land base immune to destruction enabling you to search for your remaining Forests from your library. Should you manage to use this power, it’s pretty much the game ends.

This card is a must-have for all decks using green and Avatar focusing on earthbend. If you dip into Gruul colors, consider Bumi Unleashed. It possesses earthbend 4, and when he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land become untapped for another attack. Even though Bumi has emerged as a beloved leader, this small creature is set to be one of, if not the most sought-after card in the Avatar set.