One of Avatar's most charming collectible cards proves to be a nasty small contender.

Magic: The Gathering’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to become widely available in the coming days, however due to pre-releases this past weekend, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in market worth.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub garnered a lot of attention. A 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub has Earthbending 1 (perhaps the most effective among the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage here is its second ability: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, the card was available at around $27. Following the early events, yet, the going rate escalated above $45 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. What explains premium pricing on this adorable card? Mainly because of the explosive mana ramping it enables.

Upon entering the board, Badgermole Cub transforms a land into a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, as long as it is not removed, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — plus mana-producing creatures in your control which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect is Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for G mana. Yet numerous alternative mana dorks in the game. Another option is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, you can easily get an enormous pricey creature on the battlefield within a few turns. Momentum builds rapidly if you keep the pressure on after that.

By incorporating an additional hue in this strategy, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly which produce any color of mana. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature allows you to put one extra land per turn as well as transforms your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment grants every card you own the ability to tap and generate one mana of any color — including each creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub may be OP in terms of accelerating your resources, however what closes out the game for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice has been Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness are set by how many lands you have, and it makes each creature you own into Forests as well as other subtypes. This means, every single creature on your board is able to produce double green by tapping.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body which gains from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its stats are equal to your land total).

Nissa is an excellent fit as a staple. Her static effect allows Forest lands produce extra green. (If you have the cub, so all earthbend forests produce triple green.) One loyalty ability functions like a form of land animation, placing counters on a land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, though, renders your entire land base indestructible enabling you to draw out every Forest left in the deck. Should you manage to use this power, this typically means game over.

The cub is nearly mandatory in any decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into Gruul colors, you can use this legendary card. This card features level 4 earthbending, plus if he deals combat damage to a player, all land creatures become untapped for another attack. Although this card is a beloved leader, this small creature will surely stay one of the most, maybe the popular pick in the collaboration.