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Magic: The Gathering’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to get a wider release in the coming days, yet following pre-releases this past weekend, an affordable green creature has already exploded in price.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. A 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub has the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the best among the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk with this card lies in an additional effect: If you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, this card was available at around $27. Post-prerelease, however, its value escalated above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. The reason for Vivi prices for this little creature? Primarily due to the incredible mana acceleration it enables.

As it hits the battlefield, this creature turns a land into a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, while it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to other creatures in your control which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect is the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces a green resource. However there are plenty of creatures that make mana available. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 costing two mana instead.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, it's simple to summon a massive and very expensive threat on the battlefield within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling out of control if you keep the pressure on from that point.

When adding an additional hue with this approach, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate all five colors. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing another terrain per turn AND transforms your entire land base so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying for example a card called A Realm Reborn, which for six mana provides all of your permanents the capacity to be tapped for any color mana — even any creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, yet how do you win in such a strategy? An often-seen solution is this legendary creature. Power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, plus it turns each creature you own to be Forests as well as their original types. This means, every single creature in play can generate two green mana when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that benefits from a high land count (like Ashaya, P/T match the number of lands you control).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a staple. Her static effect allows all Forests produce extra green. (If you have the cub, that means each one generate three green mana.) Her plus ability functions like a form of land animation, adding counters on terrain, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbending. The minus ability, on the other hand, renders your entire land base indestructible enabling you to search for your remaining Forests in your deck. Once you trigger the ultimate, it’s pretty much the game ends.

The cub is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck focusing on earthbend. When branching into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, plus if it hits a player to a player, land creatures become untapped and can attack again. Even though Bumi has become a beloved leader, the cub is set to be among the top, possibly the desired card in the Avatar set.