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MTG’s Avatar crossover set will not get a wider release until later this week, but following pre-releases this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in market worth.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub garnered widespread focus. A 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (arguably the most effective of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here is its second ability: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, this card could be purchased at around $27. Post-prerelease, yet, the market price jumped to $49.66 with at least one listed as high as $60. The reason for such high costs for this little creature? Mainly because of the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

When it arrives the battlefield, the cub converts a land into a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it is not removed, those lands generates double mana — along with mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice for synergy is this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. Yet many alternative mana dorks out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value in comparison.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon a massive pricey creature on the battlefield by round three or four. Momentum builds out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into another color with this approach, examples including these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks which produce all five colors. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play one extra land each turn as well as transforms your entire land base into every basic land type. It's also worth trying something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana provides each permanent you control the ability to produce a mana of any type — which covers any creature you have on the board.

The cub could be too strong when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, however how do you win for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to other subtypes. Essentially, each creature you control is able to generate two green mana by tapping.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from a high land count (like Ashaya, P/T are equal to your land total).

This Planeswalker fits really well in this deck. Her static effect allows all Forests produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her plus ability is essentially an early earthbend, adding counters on a land, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbend. The minus ability, though, renders all of your lands immune to destruction and lets you search for your remaining Forests from your library. Should you manage to use this power, this typically means you win.

The cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies focusing on the earthbend mechanic. When branching into red-green, you can use this legendary card. This card features level 4 earthbending, and when it hits a player to a player, all land creatures are ready again and can attack again. While that version has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the sought-after card in the Avatar set.