Among Avatar's cutest Magic cards proves to be a nasty little powerhouse.

the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion won’t become widely available until later this week, but following pre-releases this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in market worth.

Even during previews, the earthbending cub drew significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, the card features Earthbending 1 (perhaps the best among the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage in its design is an additional effect: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, this card could be purchased for $26.98. Following the early events, however, the market price escalated above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Primarily thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.

As it hits play, Badgermole Cub turns a land into a creature that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it is not removed, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — plus any creatures in your control that produce resources.

A clear choice for maximum effect is Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces one green mana. Yet many alternative mana dorks in the game. Another option is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value instead.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, you may quickly play a massive high-cost creature into play early in the game. And things just keep spiraling exponentially by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into an additional hue with this approach, cards like versatile mana producers work perfectly which produce any mana color. And something like this powerful dryad lets you play one extra land every round AND turns your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is something like a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment grants each permanent you control the ability to produce a mana of any type — even each creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub may be OP regarding boosting mana production, but what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer has been this legendary creature. Power and toughness match your land count, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures Forests as well as other subtypes. This means, every single creature you control may tap for two G if used for mana.

This additional option is a costly, large threat which gains from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness are based on your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect causes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, so all earthbend forests generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability acts as a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, which is great but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, however, grants each land you control immune to destruction and lets you search for every Forest left in your deck. Should you manage to use that ability, it’s pretty much game over.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for all green-based Avatar strategies built around Earthbending. If you dip into Gruul colors, there’s Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and if it hits a player in combat, each animated land become untapped and can attack again. Even though Bumi has become a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the collaboration.