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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to become widely available in the coming days, but following pre-releases recently, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in price.

Even during previews, this small creature drew significant interest. A 2/2 priced at G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub has the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the strongest among the elemental mechanics available). The major perk with this card lies in another power: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

Initially, the card could be purchased below $30. Post-prerelease, however, the going rate jumped to nearly $50 including listings as high as $60. Why are we seeing Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mostly due to the incredible mana acceleration it enables.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub converts a land so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, if it is not removed, every earthbent land generates double mana — along with other creatures you have which tap for mana.

An ideal partner to combine with is the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces a green resource. But many creatures that make mana in the game. This particular druid costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a massive and very expensive creature into play within a few turns. Momentum builds rapidly by maintaining dominance from there.

By incorporating an additional hue with this approach, examples including these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that generate any mana color. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put another terrain each turn AND transforms every land you control into every basic land type. It's also worth trying such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana provides each permanent you control the capacity to produce one mana of any color — including each creature you have on the board.

This card could be too strong in terms of ramping up your mana generation, yet how do you win in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it changes your non-token creatures to be Forests in addition to other subtypes. This means, each creature on your board may tap for two G when tapped.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with many terrain cards (like Ashaya, its stats match your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability causes every Forest tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in those lands yield three G.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, adding counters on a land, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbend. The minus ability, however, makes all of your lands indestructible and allows you to draw out your remaining Forests in the deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it almost certainly the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for all green-based Avatar strategies focusing on earthbend. When branching into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi Unleashed. He has level 4 earthbending, and when he deals combat damage to an opponent, land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. Although this card has become a beloved leader, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the popular pick from this expansion.