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the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to get a wider release in the coming days, but following pre-releases this past weekend, one cheap green card experienced a surge in market worth.

Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub garnered a lot of attention. A 2/2 that costs a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the best among the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk in its design is an additional effect: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub could be purchased at around $27. Post-prerelease, yet, its value escalated above $45 and one seller offering as high as $60. Why are we seeing such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly due to the explosive mana ramping it enables.

As it hits the board, this creature transforms one land to a creature land with earthbend. And with that second ability, as long as it remains on the board, those lands yields two mana instead of one — along with any creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice for synergy would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces one green mana. But there are plenty of alternative mana dorks in the game. Another option is a higher-cost choice with stats 1/3 costing two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon an enormous pricey creature on the board early in the game. Momentum builds exponentially if you keep the pressure on after that.

If you dip into an additional hue using this method, options such as versatile mana producers work perfectly that can make any color of mana. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put an additional land each turn as well as makes every land you control into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana gives every card you own the ability to be tapped for any color mana — even all creatures you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, but what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness are set by how many lands you have, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to their other types. This means, every single creature in play can generate two green mana if used for mana.

Harmonious Grovestrider is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, P/T are equal to your land total).

Nissa fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability allows all Forests generate an additional green mana. (Combined with earthbend, so those lands generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability functions like a form of land animation, adding counters on a land, which is great but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, on the other hand, renders your entire land base indestructible and lets you draw out every Forest left in your deck. Once you trigger this power, it almost certainly you win.

The cub is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies built around Earthbending. By including Gruul colors, there’s Bumi. He has earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt in combat, land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. While that version has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the sought-after card from this expansion.