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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set will not hit the general market until later this week, yet after pre-releases over the last few days, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub attracted significant interest. A 2/2 requiring a single green and one generic mana, it features Earthbending 1 (perhaps the most effective of the elemental mechanics available). The real boon in its design comes from another power: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

Initially, the card sold below $30. After the pre-release weekend, however, its value has shot up above $45 including listings for sale at $60.00. Why are we seeing premium pricing on this adorable card? Mostly because of the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

Upon entering the board, Badgermole Cub transforms one land into a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it remains on the board, those lands produces twice the mana — in addition to any creatures you have that generate mana.

An ideal partner for maximum effect is the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces a green resource. However many other mana generation creatures out there. This particular druid is a more expensive alternative with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

Deploying terrain, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you may quickly play a very big high-cost threat on the battlefield within a few turns. The situation escalates out of control with continued aggression from there.

When adding an additional hue with this approach, options such as versatile mana producers are all great options that generate all five colors. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature lets you play an additional land per turn as well as turns all of your lands providing all land types. Another possibility is something like this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment provides all of your permanents the capacity to tap and generate one mana of any color — which covers each creature in play.

This card might seem overpowered in terms of accelerating your resources, however what closes out the game with this archetype? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its stats are set by how many lands you have, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures into Forests as well as their original types. This means, each creature on your board may generate two green mana by tapping.

This additional option is a costly, large threat which gains from a high land count (as with the previous card, its stats are equal to the number of lands you control).

Nissa fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities causes Forest lands tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, so each one generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability is essentially a form of land animation, adding counters on terrain, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbending. Her -8 ability, however, grants each land you control immune to destruction enabling you to search for every Forest left in your deck. If you can actually activate that ability, this typically means game over.

This card is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies built around the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red-green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, and if it hits a player in combat, each animated land 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 the most, maybe the popular pick in the Avatar set.