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MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t become widely available before the end of the week, however due to prerelease weekends over the last few days, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

Even during previews, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at one green and one colorless mana, the card has Earthbending 1 (arguably the strongest within the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk with this card comes from another power: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, the card could be purchased at around $27. Following the early events, though, the going rate escalated to nearly $50 with at least one listed as high as $60. The reason for premium pricing on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it enables.

As it hits the board, Badgermole Cub turns one land into a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it is not removed, those lands produces twice the mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures you have which tap for mana.

An ideal partner for synergy includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate a green resource. Yet numerous creatures that make mana in the game. Another option costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you can easily get a very big pricey threat on the board early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially by maintaining dominance from that point.

By incorporating an additional hue in this strategy, cards like versatile mana producers are all great options that can make all five colors. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put another terrain per turn AND transforms your entire land base so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying such as this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana gives each permanent you control the ability to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers each creature you have on the board.

This card might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, yet how do you win with this archetype? A common and powerful choice has been Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness are both equal to your land count, plus it turns your non-token creatures to be Forests along with their other types. In other words, all your creatures on your board can tap for two G by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, its stats match your land total).

Nissa is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability causes every Forest tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, so all earthbend forests produce triple green.) One loyalty ability functions like a form of land animation, placing counters on a land, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her -8 ability, though, grants your entire land base indestructible and allows you to draw out all the remaining forests in your deck. Once you trigger that ability, it’s pretty much you win.

This card is a must-have for any kind of decks using green and Avatar that use earthbend. When branching into red-green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, and if it hits a player to a player, all land creatures become untapped for another attack. While that version has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay among the top, possibly the sought-after card from this expansion.