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MTG’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to become widely available until later this week, yet following early access events this past weekend, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in value.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub has the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the best within the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage in its design is another power: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

When first listed, the card could be purchased at around $27. Following the early events, however, the going rate escalated above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. The reason for such high costs on this adorable card? Primarily due to the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

As it hits the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns one land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it remains on the board, those lands yields two mana instead of one — along with mana-producing creatures on your side which tap for mana.

An ideal partner for synergy is this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 that produces a green resource. Yet there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. Another option is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value instead.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you can easily get a very big and very expensive monster on the battlefield within a few turns. The situation escalates out of control by maintaining dominance from that point.

By incorporating a secondary color with this approach, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate any color of mana. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing one extra land every round as well as turns all of your lands into every basic land type. It's also worth trying such as this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment grants every card you own the ability to be tapped for a mana of any type — even all creatures in play.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to accelerating your resources, however what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice is Ashaya. Its power and toughness match your land count, and it changes your non-token creatures Forests along with other subtypes. In other words, all your creatures in play is able to tap for two G by tapping.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with lots of lands (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are equal to your land total).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a staple. Her static effect allows all Forests tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in each one yield three G.) One loyalty ability is essentially a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. The minus ability, on the other hand, renders all of your lands indestructible and lets you put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in the deck. Should you manage to use that ability, it almost certainly the game ends.

This card is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies focusing on Earthbending. If you dip into Gruul colors, there’s Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to a player, each animated land untap and can attack again. While that version has emerged as a popular Commander choice, this small creature will surely stay one of the most, maybe the desired card in the Avatar set.