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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar won’t hit the general market until later this week, however following prerelease weekends over the last few days, an affordable green creature has already exploded in value.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature garnered widespread focus. A 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the strongest of the elemental mechanics available). The major perk here comes from its second ability: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, the card sold below $30. Following the early events, yet, the market price jumped above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. The reason for Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it provides.

Upon entering the board, the cub transforms one land so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. And with that second ability, as long as it is not removed, those lands yields two mana instead of one — along with mana-producing creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice to combine with is Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces one green mana. Yet many other mana generation creatures in the game. This particular druid costs a bit more with stats 1/3 costing two mana instead.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you can easily get a massive and very expensive monster on the battlefield within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on from there.

By incorporating another color in this strategy, options such as these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that generate any color of mana. Another card, this powerful dryad enables playing an additional land per turn AND transforms every land you control providing all land types. You can also consider something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana grants every card you own the capacity to tap and generate one mana of any color — including each creature in play.

The cub could be too strong regarding boosting mana production, however what’s the endgame finisher with this archetype? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness are set by how many lands you have, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests as well as their original types. In other words, each creature on your board can produce double green when tapped.

This additional option is a costly, large threat that thrives with a high land count (similar to Ashaya, P/T are equal to the number of lands you control).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a staple. One of her abilities causes all Forests produce extra green. (If you have the cub, this results in all earthbend forests produce triple green.) Her main ability acts as a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, renders your entire land base indestructible and allows you to put onto the battlefield every Forest left from your library. Should you manage to use the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies that use earthbend. By including red and green, there’s this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, and when he deals combat damage to a player, land creatures untap and can attack again. Although this card has become a beloved leader, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay one of, if not the most popular pick in the Avatar set.