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MTG’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to hit the general market before the end of the week, but following pre-releases over the last few days, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in value.

Even during previews, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness that costs one green and one colorless mana, it has Earthbending 1 (arguably the strongest of the elemental mechanics available). The real boon with this card comes from another power: Each time mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, though, its value jumped to $49.66 including listings priced at sixty dollars. What explains such high costs for this little creature? Primarily because of the incredible mana acceleration it enables.

As it hits play, the cub transforms one land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it is not removed, those lands yields two mana instead of one — along with other creatures in your control which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for synergy would be this one-mana elf, a low-cost creature that produces a green resource. Yet many other mana generation creatures in the game. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature costing two mana in comparison.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, you can easily get a very big and very expensive threat on the board within a few turns. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on after that.

By incorporating an additional hue in this strategy, examples including versatile mana producers work perfectly that generate any mana color. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature enables playing one extra land per turn AND transforms your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider something like this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana provides every card you own the ability to produce a mana of any type — including any creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong regarding boosting mana production, however how do you win in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness are set by the number of lands you control, plus it turns your non-token creatures Forests in addition to other subtypes. This means, every single creature in play may tap for two G if used for mana.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from lots of lands (as with the previous card, its stats match your land total).

This Planeswalker fits really well in this deck. Her static effect allows all Forests tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her plus ability acts as a form of land animation, adding counters on terrain, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbend. Her ultimate, however, grants your entire land base indestructible enabling you to draw out your remaining Forests from your library. Should you manage to use that ability, it almost certainly the game ends.

The cub is pretty much essential in any green-based Avatar strategies focusing on the earthbend mechanic. When branching into red and green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. It possesses earthbend 4, plus if it hits a player to a player, all land creatures become untapped for another attack. While that version has become a beloved leader, this small creature is set to be one of, if not the most desired card in the collaboration.