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MTG’s special Avatar expansion will not get a wider release before the end of the week, however following pre-releases over the last few days, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub drew significant interest. A 2/2 that costs a single green and one generic mana, the card features level 1 earthbending (arguably the most effective of the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage with this card is another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, this card sold at around $27. Following the early events, though, its value has shot up above $45 with at least one listed as high as $60. Why are we seeing Vivi prices for this little creature? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it provides.

When it arrives the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns one land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it stays in play, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — plus other creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect is this one-mana elf, a low-cost creature that produces G mana. However many other mana generation creatures available. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more with stats 1/3 costing two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon a very big pricey monster on the battlefield by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on from there.

When adding a secondary color in this strategy, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that generate all five colors. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put one extra land each turn plus makes every land you control so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana gives all of your permanents the power to tap and generate any color mana — including all creatures under your control.

The cub could be too strong in terms of accelerating your resources, but what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its stats are both equal to your land count, plus it turns each creature you own to be Forests in addition to other subtypes. Essentially, every single creature in play is able to produce double green if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from lots of lands (like Ashaya, P/T are based on how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect makes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, that means those lands generate three green mana.) Her main ability functions like an early earthbend, placing counters on a land, handy but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, makes each land you control immune to destruction and lets you draw out all the remaining forests in your deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it’s pretty much the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have in any decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red-green, consider this legendary card. It possesses earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt to a player, all land creatures become untapped and may attack once more. Although this card has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, this small creature is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most popular pick in the Avatar set.