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MTG’s collaboration with Avatar will not hit the general market before the end of the week, but after early access events this past weekend, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in market worth.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at one green and one colorless mana, it has Earthbending 1 (possibly the strongest within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here lies in its second ability: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub sold below $30. Post-prerelease, though, its value jumped above $45 including listings as high as $60. What explains such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the explosive mana ramping it enables.

Upon entering the board, this creature transforms one land into a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it remains on the board, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — plus any creatures you have which tap for mana.

A clear choice for maximum effect would be this one-mana elf, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for one green mana. Yet there are plenty of alternative mana dorks available. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you can easily get a massive pricey monster on the board by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into an additional hue with this approach, options such as versatile mana producers are excellent picks which produce all five colors. And something like this powerful dryad enables playing an additional land each turn AND transforms all of your lands providing all land types. Another possibility is for example this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana provides every card you own the power to produce a mana of any type — including all creatures under your control.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to accelerating your resources, but what closes out the game for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Power and toughness are both equal to your land count, plus it turns each creature you own to be Forests in addition to their other types. Essentially, each creature you control can generate two green mana if used for mana.

This additional option is a costly, large threat which gains from a high land count (similar to Ashaya, its stats are based on how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities allows all Forests generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, so all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her plus ability acts as a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, makes your entire land base indestructible enabling you to search for your remaining Forests in your deck. If you can actually activate this power, it’s pretty much the game ends.

This card is a must-have for any kind of decks using green and Avatar focusing on earthbend. If you dip into Gruul colors, you can use Bumi Unleashed. It possesses level 4 earthbending, plus if it hits a player to a player, land creatures untap and may attack once more. Although this card is a popular Commander choice, the cub will surely stay one of, if not the most sought-after card in the collaboration.