🔗 Share this article

Magic: The Gathering’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to hit the general market before the end of the week, however after pre-releases over the last few days, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

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 (possibly the best within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk with this card comes from its second ability: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, this card sold for $26.98. Post-prerelease, however, the going rate escalated to nearly $50 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. Why are we seeing such high costs for this cute lil guy? Primarily thanks to the rapid resource generation it can produce.

When it arrives play, the cub transforms a land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, as long as it is not removed, those lands produces twice the mana — plus mana-producing creatures you have that produce resources.

The obvious go-to to combine with includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. This particular druid costs a bit more a 1/3 creature for two mana as an alternative.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a very big pricey creature on the board early in the game. And things just keep spiraling rapidly by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into another color using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks that generate any color of mana. Additionally, this powerful dryad lets you play one extra land per turn plus turns your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants each permanent you control the capacity to be tapped for one mana of any color — including any creature in play.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered regarding ramping up your mana generation, yet how do you win with this archetype? An often-seen solution is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness are both equal to your land count, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to their original types. Essentially, each creature on your board may generate two green mana if used for mana.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body which gains from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its stats match how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker fits really well in this deck. Her static effect allows all Forests generate an additional green mana. (Combined with earthbend, this results in each one produce triple green.) One loyalty ability acts as an early earthbend, adding counters on terrain, handy but does not overlap with the cub's ability. The minus ability, however, grants each land you control indestructible and allows you to search for your remaining Forests from your library. Once you trigger this power, it almost certainly you win.

The cub is a must-have for any kind of green Avatar deck built around the earthbend mechanic. By including red-green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, and when it hits a player to a player, each animated land untap and can attack again. While that version has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub will surely stay one of, if not the most sought-after card from this expansion.