🔗 Share this article

MTG’s special Avatar expansion will not hit the general market in the coming days, but due to early access events over the last few days, one cheap green card has already exploded in value.

From the initial reveals, Badgermole Cub garnered significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, it features Earthbending 1 (arguably the best within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk with this card lies in another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, however, the market price jumped above $45 and one seller offering as high as $60. The reason for Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mostly due to the explosive mana ramping it provides.

Upon entering play, Badgermole Cub converts a land to a creature land with earthbend. And with that second ability, while it stays in play, those lands generates double mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that produces a green resource. Yet there are plenty of alternative mana dorks out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice with stats 1/3 costing two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get a massive and very expensive monster on the board within a few turns. Momentum builds exponentially by maintaining dominance from there.

When adding another color using this method, options such as versatile mana producers are excellent picks that generate any color of mana. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play another terrain every round AND makes your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider such as the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants every card you own the power to be tapped for one mana of any color — which covers all creatures in play.

The cub might seem overpowered when it comes to boosting mana production, however what closes out the game in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer has been Ashaya. Power and toughness are both equal to your land count, plus it turns each creature you own into Forests in addition to their original types. Essentially, all your creatures on your board may generate two green mana if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from lots of lands (like Ashaya, its stats match the number of lands you control).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities makes all Forests produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, this results in those lands produce triple green.) Her main ability functions like an early earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but does not overlap with earthbend. The minus ability, on the other hand, renders your entire land base immune to destruction enabling you to put onto the battlefield every Forest left from your library. Once you trigger the ultimate, this typically means game over.

This card is a must-have in any green Avatar deck that use the earthbend mechanic. By including red-green, consider Bumi Unleashed. This card features level 4 earthbending, plus if he deals combat damage to a player, each animated land untap and may attack once more. While that version is a popular Commander choice, the cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the desired card from this expansion.