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Magic: The Gathering’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to hit the general market in the coming days, however after pre-releases this past weekend, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub garnered widespread focus. A 2/2 requiring a single green and one generic mana, the card has Earthbending 1 (arguably the best within the four bending abilities in the set). The real boon in its design lies in an additional effect: If you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, this card was available below $30. After the pre-release weekend, however, the going rate jumped above $45 including listings priced at sixty dollars. The reason for Vivi prices for this little creature? Mainly due to the explosive mana ramping it enables.

As it hits the battlefield, this creature turns a land to a creature land with earthbend. Combined with its other power, if it stays in play, each affected land generates double mana — plus mana-producing creatures you have which tap for mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect would be the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces a green resource. But many creatures that make mana available. Another option costs a bit more a 1/3 creature costing two mana as an alternative.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you may quickly play an enormous high-cost creature on the board early in the game. Momentum builds rapidly by maintaining dominance after that.

By incorporating a secondary color using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that can make all five colors. Another card, this powerful dryad lets you play an additional land every round plus transforms every land you control into every basic land type. You can also consider for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana gives all of your permanents the ability to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers all creatures under your control.

The cub may be OP when it comes to accelerating your resources, however what closes out the game for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its stats are both equal to your land count, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures Forests in addition to their original types. In other words, every single creature you control is able to tap for two G if used for mana.

Another creature is a costly, large threat which gains from lots of lands (like Ashaya, its stats match how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability causes every Forest produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, so those lands yield three G.) One loyalty ability functions like a proto-earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, handy but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. The minus ability, on the other hand, renders your entire land base unbreakable and allows you to search for your remaining Forests in the deck. Once you trigger that ability, this typically means game over.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential for all decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. When branching into red-green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, and if damage is dealt to a player, all land creatures become untapped and can attack again. While that version is a fan favorite Commander, this small creature is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the desired card from this expansion.