Among Avatar's cutest collectible cards is a powerful little force.

MTG’s collaboration with Avatar will not get a wider release until later this week, however after prerelease weekends over the last few days, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in market worth.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub includes the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the best within the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage here comes from its second ability: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

Initially, the card was available for $26.98. Post-prerelease, yet, the market price jumped above $45 and one seller offering as high as $60. The reason for such high costs on this adorable card? Mostly due to the explosive mana ramping it provides.

Upon entering the board, Badgermole Cub converts a land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it remains on the board, each affected land produces twice the mana — plus other creatures you have that generate mana.

An ideal partner for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 which can be tapped for G mana. Yet there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Another option costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon a massive high-cost threat on the board within a few turns. Momentum builds out of control with continued aggression after that.

By incorporating an additional hue with this approach, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that can make all five colors. And something like a useful enchantment creature lets you play another terrain per turn as well as transforms all of your lands into every basic land type. You can also consider such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana gives each permanent you control the ability to tap and generate one mana of any color — even each creature you have on the board.

This card might seem overpowered when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, yet what closes out the game with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness are both equal to your land count, plus it turns each creature you own to be Forests in addition to their other types. In other words, each creature in play is able to generate two green mana when tapped.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, P/T are based on your land total).

This Planeswalker fits really well as a staple. Her passive ability makes all Forests produce extra green. (If you have the cub, this results in those lands yield three G.) Her main ability is essentially a form of land animation, adding counters on a land, which is great but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, grants all of your lands indestructible and lets you search for every Forest left in the deck. Should you manage to use that ability, it’s pretty much game over.

The cub is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck focusing on earthbend. If you dip into red and green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt to a player, each animated land untap for another attack. Even though Bumi has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub is set to be among the top, possibly the popular pick from this expansion.

Tracey Miller
Tracey Miller

A passionate esports journalist with over a decade of experience covering major tournaments and gaming culture.