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Magic: The Gathering’s special Avatar expansion won’t hit the general market until later this week, however due to pre-releases over the last few days, one cheap green card has already exploded in value.

Even during previews, this small creature garnered a lot of attention. A 2/2 that costs one green and one colorless mana, it features the Earthbend 1 ability (possibly the most effective within the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk with this card lies in its second ability: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, the card could be purchased at around $27. Post-prerelease, yet, the market price jumped to nearly $50 with at least one listed as high as $60. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly thanks to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

When it arrives play, Badgermole Cub transforms one land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it stays in play, each affected land produces twice the mana — along with mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice for synergy includes this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate G mana. Yet there are plenty of creatures that make mana out there. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature for two mana in comparison.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you can easily get a massive pricey creature into play within a few turns. The situation escalates exponentially with continued aggression after that.

By incorporating another color in this strategy, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks that can make all five colors. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play one extra land every round AND makes all of your lands so they count as all basics. You can also consider something like this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment provides each permanent you control the ability to be tapped for one mana of any color — even each creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, but what closes out the game in such a strategy? An often-seen solution already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness are both equal to the number of lands you control, and it changes each creature you own Forests as well as their original types. Essentially, all your creatures on your board may tap for two G if used for mana.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body that thrives with a high land count (as with the previous card, its power and toughness match your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect allows all Forests tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, so those lands produce triple green.) Her plus ability is essentially an early earthbend, adding counters on a land, handy but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, on the other hand, grants all of your lands immune to destruction and lets you put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests from your library. Once you trigger the ultimate, this typically means game over.

The cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of decks using green and Avatar focusing on the earthbend mechanic. When branching into Gruul colors, consider Bumi. He has level 4 earthbending, plus if it hits a player to a player, all land creatures untap and may attack once more. Although this card is a popular Commander choice, this small creature will surely stay one of, if not the most popular pick in the Avatar set.