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MTG’s special Avatar expansion won’t get a wider release until later this week, but after prerelease weekends recently, one cheap green card has already exploded in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs a single green and one generic mana, it includes the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the most effective within the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here comes from another power: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, this card sold at around $27. Following the early events, though, the going rate has shot up to nearly $50 including listings priced at sixty dollars. What explains Vivi prices for this little creature? Primarily because of the explosive mana ramping it enables.

Upon entering play, this creature converts one land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it remains on the board, those lands produces twice the mana — along with other creatures in your control that produce resources.

An ideal partner for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for G mana. But many creatures that make mana out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature costing two mana instead.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you may quickly play an enormous pricey threat on the board within a few turns. The situation escalates exponentially with continued aggression from that point.

If you dip into an additional hue with this approach, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate all five colors. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play an additional land per turn AND transforms your entire land base into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana gives all of your permanents the power to tap and generate one mana of any color — which covers any creature in play.

The cub might seem overpowered regarding boosting mana production, but what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya. Its stats are set by the number of lands you control, plus it turns each creature you own Forests in addition to their original types. This means, all your creatures on your board can produce double green by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that thrives with many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, P/T are based on how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker fits really well as a staple. Her static effect causes Forest lands produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, so all earthbend forests generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability acts as a form of land animation, adding counters to a noncreature land, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbend. The minus ability, however, grants your entire land base indestructible and allows you to put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in your deck. Should you manage to use this power, it almost certainly the game ends.

The cub is nearly mandatory in any green Avatar deck built around the earthbend mechanic. When branching into red-green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, plus if it hits a player in combat, each animated land are ready again and may attack once more. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, this small creature is set to be one of, if not the most popular pick from this expansion.