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MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t hit the general market in the coming days, but after prerelease weekends over the last few days, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub drew widespread focus. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, the card includes Earthbending 1 (perhaps the best of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here comes from an additional effect: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, this card was available below $30. Post-prerelease, yet, its value escalated to nearly $50 including listings as high as $60. Why are we seeing premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mainly thanks to the rapid resource generation it enables.

As it hits the board, the cub transforms one land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to any creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice to combine with would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces one green mana. But numerous creatures that make mana out there. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value in comparison.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you may quickly play an enormous pricey threat into play by round three or four. The situation escalates exponentially by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into a secondary color in this strategy, cards like versatile mana producers are all great options that generate any color of mana. Another card, this powerful dryad enables playing another terrain every round as well as turns your entire land base providing all land types. It's also worth trying something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants all of your permanents the capacity to be tapped for any color mana — including any creature in play.

The cub might seem overpowered in terms of accelerating your resources, but what closes out the game in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness match your land count, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests along with other subtypes. This means, all your creatures in play may tap for two G if used for mana.

Another creature is a costly, large threat that benefits from a high land count (like Ashaya, its stats match how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a staple. Her static effect makes Forest lands tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means those lands produce triple green.) Her main ability acts as a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, though, grants your entire land base indestructible and lets you draw out every Forest left in your deck. Should you manage to use this power, it’s pretty much game over.

This card is nearly mandatory in any green-based Avatar strategies built around Earthbending. If you dip into red-green, you can use this legendary card. He has level 4 earthbending, and when he deals combat damage in combat, all land creatures become untapped for another attack. Although this card has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cub is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the desired card in the Avatar set.