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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar won’t become widely available before the end of the week, yet due to pre-releases recently, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in price.

From the initial reveals, this small creature drew widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness priced at one green and one colorless mana, the card includes the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the best of the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage with this card is another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, this card was available at around $27. Following the early events, yet, the going rate escalated to nearly $50 including listings for sale at $60.00. What explains Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it enables.

Upon entering the battlefield, the cub transforms one land into a creature that has earthbending. And with that second ability, as long as it stays in play, each affected land produces twice the mana — along with mana-producing creatures you have that generate mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate one green mana. But numerous alternative mana dorks in the game. Another option costs a bit more with stats 1/3 for two mana in comparison.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon an enormous high-cost creature into play within a few turns. Momentum builds out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

By incorporating an additional hue with this approach, options such as versatile mana producers work perfectly that can make any mana color. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play another terrain per turn as well as turns all of your lands providing all land types. Another possibility is for example a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment provides each permanent you control the power to produce any color mana — which covers any creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong regarding accelerating your resources, however how do you win with this archetype? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it changes your non-token creatures Forests as well as their other types. Essentially, every single creature in play may generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, P/T are based on your land total).

Nissa works perfectly in this deck. Her passive ability makes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, that means all earthbend forests yield three G.) One loyalty ability is essentially a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbending. Her ultimate, though, renders each land you control immune to destruction enabling you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in your deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for all green Avatar deck built around Earthbending. By including Gruul colors, there’s this legendary card. It possesses earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to a player, all land creatures untap and can attack again. While that version is a fan favorite Commander, the cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most sought-after card from this expansion.