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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion won’t hit the general market until later this week, but following prerelease weekends this past weekend, one cheap green card experienced a surge in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew significant interest. A 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the strongest among the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage with this card is its second ability: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub sold at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, yet, its value escalated above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. The reason for Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Primarily thanks to the explosive mana ramping it provides.

When it arrives play, this creature converts a land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it stays in play, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — along with mana-producing creatures you have that generate mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces one green mana. However many creatures that make mana available. This particular druid costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a massive high-cost creature on the battlefield early in the game. Momentum builds exponentially if you keep the pressure on from there.

When adding another color in this strategy, options such as these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks that can make any mana color. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land each turn as well as makes every land you control providing all land types. You can also consider something like this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment provides each permanent you control the capacity to be tapped for one mana of any color — which covers all creatures in play.

This card could be too strong when it comes to accelerating your resources, yet how do you win for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer has been this legendary creature. Its stats are both equal to your land count, and it makes your non-token creatures Forests as well as their other types. Essentially, each creature you control is able to tap for two G when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that thrives with lots of lands (as with the previous card, its stats are based on your land total).

This Planeswalker works perfectly in this deck. Her static effect makes all Forests generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in each one generate three green mana.) Her main ability functions like a form of land animation, adding counters on terrain, handy but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. The minus ability, though, renders all of your lands indestructible enabling you to put onto the battlefield every Forest left in the deck. Should you manage to use this power, it’s pretty much game over.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential in any green Avatar deck built around earthbend. If you dip into red-green, there’s Bumi. It possesses earthbend 4, and if damage is dealt to an opponent, each animated land untap for another attack. Although this card is a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of, if not the most sought-after card in the Avatar set.