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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion will not become widely available before the end of the week, yet following pre-releases this past weekend, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at G and 1 mana, it has the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the strongest of the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage in its design is an additional effect: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub was available below $30. Post-prerelease, however, the going rate has shot up to nearly $50 including listings priced at sixty dollars. The reason for such high costs for this little creature? Primarily thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.

As it hits play, the cub transforms one land so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, while it is not removed, those lands generates double mana — plus other creatures you have that produce resources.

The obvious go-to for synergy is the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate G mana. However numerous creatures that make mana available. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature for two mana as an alternative.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you may quickly play a very big high-cost creature on the battlefield by round three or four. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on from that point.

If you dip into another color using this method, examples including versatile mana producers are all great options that generate any mana color. And something like this powerful dryad allows you to put one extra land every round AND transforms your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider something like a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment grants each permanent you control the ability to be tapped for one mana of any color — even all creatures under your control.

The cub might seem overpowered regarding accelerating your resources, but what closes out the game in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness match your land count, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests along with their other types. In other words, each creature in play can tap for two G by tapping.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from lots of lands (as with the previous card, its power and toughness match the number of lands you control).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities makes every Forest tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, that means those lands generate three green mana.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, grants each land you control indestructible enabling you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in the deck. Once you trigger this power, this typically means you win.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for all decks using green and Avatar focusing on Earthbending. When branching into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi Unleashed. This card features level 4 earthbending, and when he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land become untapped and can attack again. Even though Bumi has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the popular pick from this expansion.