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Magic: The Gathering’s special Avatar expansion will not become widely available until later this week, but following early access events over the last few days, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in value.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub drew a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness requiring G and 1 mana, it features Earthbending 1 (arguably the best within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon in its design is an additional effect: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, this card sold below $30. After the pre-release weekend, though, the market price escalated above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. What explains such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the incredible mana acceleration it enables.

As it hits the battlefield, the cub converts a land to a creature land with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it stays in play, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — in addition to mana-producing creatures in your control which tap for mana.

A clear choice to combine with is this one-mana elf, a low-cost creature that produces G mana. Yet there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, you can easily get an enormous pricey creature on the battlefield early in the game. Momentum builds out of control if you keep the pressure on from there.

By incorporating an additional hue using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks that can make any mana color. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land each turn plus transforms every land you control providing all land types. It's also worth trying for example this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana grants each permanent you control the power to produce one mana of any color — even all creatures in play.

The cub could be too strong regarding ramping up your mana generation, yet what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer has been this legendary creature. Its stats match how many lands you have, and it changes each creature you own Forests in addition to their original types. This means, all your creatures in play can generate two green mana when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its stats match the number of lands you control).

This Planeswalker is an excellent fit in this deck. Her passive ability makes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, so each one yield three G.) Her plus ability is essentially an early earthbend, placing counters on a land, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbend. The minus ability, though, renders your entire land base indestructible and lets you draw out every Forest left in the deck. If you can actually activate that ability, it almost certainly you win.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential for all green Avatar deck that use earthbend. When branching into red and green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and when it hits a player in combat, all land creatures become untapped for another attack. Even though Bumi is a popular Commander choice, this small creature is set to be among the top, possibly the popular pick in the Avatar set.