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Magic: The Gathering’s Avatar crossover set will not hit the general market before the end of the week, but following early access events over the last few days, one cheap green card experienced a surge in value.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub attracted widespread focus. A 2/2 that costs a single green and one generic mana, the card includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the strongest of the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk with this card lies in an additional effect: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub was available at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, though, its value has shot up above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. The reason for such high costs for this little creature? Mainly thanks to the rapid resource generation it enables.

When it arrives play, this creature turns a terrain card into a creature granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it is not removed, every earthbent land generates double mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures in your control that generate mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect is the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces G mana. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures in the game. This particular druid costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 for two mana in comparison.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a massive high-cost creature into play by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression after that.

If you dip into another color in this strategy, examples including versatile mana producers are excellent picks which produce any color of mana. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing one extra land per turn AND transforms all of your lands into every basic land type. It's also worth trying for example a card called A Realm Reborn, costing six mana grants every card you own the ability to tap and generate one mana of any color — which covers all creatures you have on the board.

The cub could be too strong in terms of accelerating your resources, however how do you win for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Its stats match your land count, and it makes each creature you own Forests in addition to other subtypes. In other words, all your creatures you control may tap for two G when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider provides a high-cost, powerful body that thrives with a high land count (like Ashaya, its power and toughness are based on your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability makes all Forests tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, so those lands yield three G.) One loyalty ability acts as an early earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her -8 ability, however, renders your entire land base unbreakable enabling you to draw out all the remaining forests from your library. Should you manage to use the ultimate, it almost certainly you win.

This card is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red and green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. It possesses level 4 earthbending, and if damage is dealt to a player, each animated land become untapped for another attack. Even though Bumi has become a beloved leader, this small creature is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the desired card from this expansion.