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MTG’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to get a wider release until later this week, however following prerelease weekends recently, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub attracted a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at a single green and one generic mana, the card includes the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the most effective within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk in its design lies in another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

When first listed, this card sold at around $27. Post-prerelease, though, the going rate has shot up to nearly $50 including listings priced at sixty dollars. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the explosive mana ramping it enables.

When it arrives play, this creature turns a land into a creature that has earthbending. And with that second ability, while it remains on the board, those lands generates double mana — along with other creatures in your control which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to to combine with is Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces one green mana. Yet many alternative mana dorks out there. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 costing two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you may quickly play a very big and very expensive creature on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially with continued aggression after that.

If you dip into an additional hue in this strategy, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options which produce all five colors. And something like a useful enchantment creature lets you play an additional land each turn AND turns your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is such as this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana grants all of your permanents the ability to produce any color mana — even any creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub may be OP in terms of ramping up your mana generation, but how do you win with this archetype? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Power and toughness match how many lands you have, plus it turns your non-token creatures into Forests in addition to other subtypes. In other words, every single creature in play may produce double green when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its stats are based on how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities allows all Forests tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, so each one produce triple green.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, placing counters to a noncreature land, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, renders all of your lands immune to destruction enabling you to search for your remaining Forests in your deck. Should you manage to use the ultimate, it almost certainly the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have in any green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. When branching into Gruul colors, consider this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to a player, all land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. While that version is a popular Commander choice, the cub will surely stay among the top, possibly the popular pick in the collaboration.