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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to get a wider release in the coming days, but after prerelease weekends this past weekend, one cheap green card experienced a surge in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew significant interest. A 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, the card has Earthbending 1 (arguably the most effective among the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon in its design is its second ability: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, this card was available for $26.98. Post-prerelease, however, the market price escalated to $49.66 with at least one listed as high as $60. The reason for such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly thanks to the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub converts one land to a creature land with earthbend. And with that second ability, as long as it stays in play, those lands yields two mana instead of one — plus any creatures you have which tap for mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces G mana. Yet there are plenty of other mana generation creatures available. This particular druid is a more expensive alternative with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you may quickly play a massive pricey threat on the board early in the game. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression after that.

If you dip into a secondary color using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options which produce all five colors. Another card, this powerful dryad allows you to put another terrain per turn as well as transforms all of your lands into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana gives all of your permanents the capacity to produce any color mana — including each creature in play.

This card might seem overpowered regarding ramping up your mana generation, but what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness are set by the number of lands you control, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests along with their other types. Essentially, each creature in play can generate two green mana if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, its power and toughness match your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well in this deck. Her passive ability makes all Forests tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, so those lands generate three green mana.) Her plus ability functions like a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, makes your entire land base immune to destruction and lets you put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in the deck. Should you manage to use this power, it almost certainly the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies built around earthbend. When branching into red and green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. This card features level 4 earthbending, and when it hits a player to an opponent, all land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. Even though Bumi has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, this small creature is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the sought-after card in the collaboration.