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MTG’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to hit the general market in the coming days, yet due to early access events this past weekend, an affordable green creature has already exploded in market worth.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub drew significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs a single green and one generic mana, it includes level 1 earthbending (arguably the strongest within the elemental mechanics available). The major perk with this card lies in another power: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

Initially, the card was available below $30. After the pre-release weekend, though, its value jumped above $45 including listings priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mostly thanks to the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

As it hits play, this creature turns a land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, if it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — plus mana-producing creatures in your control that generate mana.

An ideal partner to combine with would be this one-mana elf, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces one green mana. Yet numerous alternative mana dorks out there. Another option is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value instead.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, you may quickly play a massive high-cost threat on the battlefield by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling rapidly by maintaining dominance after that.

If you dip into a secondary color using this method, examples including versatile mana producers work perfectly which produce all five colors. Another card, this powerful dryad allows you to put another terrain each turn AND transforms all of your lands providing all land types. Another possibility is such as this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment gives each permanent you control the capacity to tap and generate one mana of any color — including any creature in play.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to accelerating your resources, but what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? An often-seen solution already is Ashaya. Power and toughness are set by how many lands you have, and it makes your non-token creatures to be Forests as well as other subtypes. Essentially, every single creature in play is able to generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from lots of lands (as with the previous card, P/T are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a staple. One of her abilities allows every Forest produce extra green. (If you have the cub, so all earthbend forests generate three green mana.) Her main ability functions like a form of land animation, placing counters on a land, which is great but does not overlap with earthbending. Her -8 ability, however, renders your entire land base unbreakable and lets you search for all the remaining forests in the deck. Should you manage to use this power, it’s pretty much game over.

The cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. By including red and green, you can use this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, and when it hits a player to an opponent, land creatures become untapped and can attack again. Although this card has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, the cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the desired card from this expansion.