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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to become widely available in the coming days, but due to pre-releases recently, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub garnered widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness requiring a single green and one generic mana, the card features the Earthbend 1 ability (possibly the most effective among the four bending abilities in the set). The real boon with this card comes from its second ability: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, the card sold below $30. Post-prerelease, however, the market price escalated above $45 including listings as high as $60. The reason for such high costs for this little creature? Mainly because of the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

Upon entering the board, this creature turns one land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it remains on the board, those lands generates double mana — plus any creatures in your control which tap for mana.

A clear choice to combine with is Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate one green mana. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures in the game. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice with stats 1/3 costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a massive high-cost monster on the board by round three or four. Momentum builds rapidly if you keep the pressure on from that point.

By incorporating a secondary color using this method, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks which produce any mana color. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play another terrain each turn plus turns every land you control into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment grants every card you own the capacity to produce any color mana — even any creature under your control.

This card might seem overpowered in terms of boosting mana production, however what closes out the game for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice has been this legendary creature. Its stats are set by how many lands you have, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests in addition to other subtypes. This means, all your creatures you control may tap for two G if used for mana.

Another creature is a costly, large threat which gains from lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, its stats are based on the number of lands you control).

Nissa is an excellent fit in this deck. One of her abilities allows Forest lands tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means all earthbend forests yield three G.) One loyalty ability acts as a form of land animation, adding counters on a land, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, grants all of your lands unbreakable and allows you to search for your remaining Forests in the deck. If you can actually activate this power, this typically means you win.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for all decks using green and Avatar that use earthbend. By including Gruul colors, you can use this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, plus if he deals combat damage to a player, each animated land are ready again and can attack again. Even though Bumi has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay one of, if not the most desired card from this expansion.