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MTG’s Avatar crossover set will not get a wider release until later this week, however following prerelease weekends over the last few days, an affordable green creature has already exploded in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature garnered significant interest. A 2/2 requiring a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub features Earthbending 1 (possibly the most effective among the elemental mechanics available). The real boon in its design comes from its second ability: If you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub could be purchased for $26.98. Post-prerelease, though, the market price has shot up to $49.66 including listings as high as $60. Why are we seeing premium pricing on this adorable card? Mostly due to the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

When it arrives play, Badgermole Cub transforms one land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it is not removed, those lands yields two mana instead of one — plus mana-producing creatures you have which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for synergy would be the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate one green mana. However there are plenty of creatures that make mana out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 costing two mana instead.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, it's simple to summon an enormous and very expensive monster on the board within a few turns. Momentum builds out of control with continued aggression from that point.

By incorporating an additional hue in this strategy, examples including versatile mana producers work perfectly that can make any mana color. And something like this powerful dryad allows you to put an additional land each turn AND turns every land you control providing all land types. Another possibility is such as this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana provides each permanent you control the capacity to tap and generate one mana of any color — which covers all creatures in play.

The cub may be OP regarding accelerating your resources, yet what closes out the game for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice has been Ashaya. Its power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures Forests along with their original types. Essentially, all your creatures in play is able to tap for two G when tapped.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from lots of lands (like Ashaya, its stats are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect makes Forest lands produce extra green. (If you have the cub, so each one generate three green mana.) Her plus ability is essentially an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, which is great though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, however, grants each land you control unbreakable enabling you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in the deck. Once you trigger that ability, it almost certainly you win.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies that use the earthbend mechanic. By including Gruul colors, there’s Bumi. He has earthbend 4, and if damage is dealt to a player, all land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. Although this card has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, the cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the sought-after card from this expansion.