One of the Avatar-themed cutest Magic cards proves to be a nasty compact force.

the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to hit the general market until later this week, but after early access events over the last few days, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, it has Earthbending 1 (perhaps the most effective among the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage with this card lies in an additional effect: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, the card was available below $30. Following the early events, though, the market price has shot up above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. The reason for Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mostly because of the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

When it arrives the board, the cub transforms one land to a creature land with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it stays in play, those lands produces twice the mana — plus mana-producing creatures you have that generate mana.

An ideal partner to combine with would be this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 that produces G mana. However numerous other mana generation creatures in the game. This particular druid costs a bit more a 1/3 creature costing two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you may quickly play a massive and very expensive creature into play within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression from there.

By incorporating another color using this method, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that can make any color of mana. Additionally, this powerful dryad lets you play an additional land per turn as well as makes all of your lands so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying for example a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment provides all of your permanents the ability to produce a mana of any type — which covers all creatures in play.

This card may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, but what closes out the game in such a strategy? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Power and toughness match how many lands you have, and it makes each creature you own into Forests along with other subtypes. Essentially, each creature in play can generate two green mana by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, its stats match your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a staple. Her static effect allows Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in all earthbend forests produce triple green.) Her main ability functions like a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbending. The minus ability, however, makes all of your lands indestructible and lets you put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests from your library. Once you trigger the ultimate, it almost certainly game over.

This card is a must-have for all decks using green and Avatar focusing on the earthbend mechanic. By including red-green, you can use this legendary card. It possesses earthbend 4, and when it hits a player in combat, all land creatures untap and can attack again. While that version has become a beloved leader, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the collaboration.

Tiffany Lawrence
Tiffany Lawrence

Elara is a tech enthusiast and business strategist with a passion for innovation and digital transformation.