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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to hit the general market in the coming days, however following early access events recently, one cheap green card has already exploded in price.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub attracted widespread focus. A 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, it has the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the best among the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here is an additional effect: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub was available for $26.98. Following the early events, yet, the market price escalated above $45 and one seller offering as high as $60. The reason for premium pricing on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

As it hits the battlefield, the cub turns one land into a creature that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it remains on the board, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — in addition to other creatures you have that generate mana.

A clear choice for synergy is Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. Yet there are plenty of creatures that make mana available. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 costing two mana as an alternative.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get a massive and very expensive threat on the board within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression after that.

If you dip into another color using this method, cards like these mana-fixing creatures work perfectly which produce all five colors. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature allows you to put one extra land each turn AND makes every land you control so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying something like this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment grants every card you own the ability to tap and generate one mana of any color — including all creatures in play.

This card could be too strong in terms of accelerating your resources, but what closes out the game with this archetype? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Its stats are set by how many lands you have, and it changes your non-token creatures to be Forests along with their other types. Essentially, each creature you control may tap for two G if used for mana.

Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are equal to the number of lands you control).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a staple. One of her abilities allows every Forest generate an additional green mana. (Combined with earthbend, that means those lands produce triple green.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, placing counters on terrain, a useful effect but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, grants each land you control unbreakable enabling you to put onto the battlefield every Forest left in your deck. Once you trigger the ultimate, it’s pretty much the game ends.

This card is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies focusing on Earthbending. When branching into Gruul colors, consider Bumi. This card features earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to a player, land creatures become untapped and may attack once more. Even though Bumi has emerged as a popular Commander choice, this small creature is set to be one of the most, maybe the desired card in the collaboration.