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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to get a wider release before the end of the week, but following pre-releases recently, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in value.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub garnered significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness priced at a single green and one generic mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (arguably the strongest among the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage here is an additional effect: Each time you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub sold at around $27. Following the early events, though, the market price escalated to $49.66 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for such high costs for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the incredible mana acceleration it enables.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub converts a land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it is not removed, each affected land produces twice the mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

An ideal partner to combine with includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for a green resource. However there are plenty of alternative mana dorks available. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you can easily get a massive pricey monster into play within a few turns. Momentum builds rapidly if you keep the pressure on from there.

If you dip into another color using this method, examples including these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that can make any color of mana. And something like a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land every round AND transforms your entire land base 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 ability to produce one mana of any color — which covers any creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered in terms of accelerating your resources, yet what’s the endgame finisher with this archetype? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya. Power and toughness match how many lands you have, and it makes your non-token creatures to be Forests along with their other types. This means, each creature on your board is able to tap for two G when tapped.

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

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit in this deck. Her static effect allows all Forests produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, so all earthbend forests yield three G.) One loyalty ability acts as a form of land animation, placing counters on terrain, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, however, grants all of your lands immune to destruction and lets you search for your remaining Forests from your library. Should you manage to use the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.

This card is a must-have in any green-based Avatar strategies that use the earthbend mechanic. By including red-green, consider Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to a player, land creatures become untapped for another attack. Although this card is a popular Commander choice, this small creature is set to be among the top, possibly the desired card in the collaboration.