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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion won’t hit the general market until later this week, however after prerelease weekends recently, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in price.

Even during previews, this small creature drew a lot of attention. A 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, the card includes Earthbending 1 (arguably the best among the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here comes from an additional effect: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

When first listed, the card sold at around $27. Post-prerelease, however, the going rate escalated to nearly $50 with at least one listed as high as $60. What explains Vivi prices for this little creature? Mostly because of the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

When it arrives the board, Badgermole Cub turns one land into a creature granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, while it is not removed, each affected land generates double mana — along with any creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice for synergy includes Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces one green mana. However there are plenty of alternative mana dorks in the game. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value instead.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you may quickly play a massive high-cost creature on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially by maintaining dominance from that point.

By incorporating another color with this approach, examples including these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that generate any mana color. Additionally, this powerful dryad lets you play another terrain every round AND turns all of your lands providing all land types. It's also worth trying such as this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana gives every card you own the ability to produce any color mana — which covers all creatures in play.

This card may be OP in terms of accelerating your resources, but what closes out the game in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it makes each creature you own into Forests in addition to their original types. This means, each creature in play can produce double green by tapping.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its stats are based on the number of lands you control).

Nissa is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities causes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (Combined with earthbend, that means each one produce triple green.) One loyalty ability acts as a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her -8 ability, however, makes all of your lands unbreakable and lets you put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in your deck. Once you trigger that ability, it almost certainly you win.

The cub is pretty much essential for any kind of green Avatar deck built around the earthbend mechanic. When branching into Gruul colors, consider Bumi Unleashed. It possesses level 4 earthbending, and when it hits a player to a player, land creatures become untapped for another attack. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, the cub is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the sought-after card from this expansion.