🔗 Share this article

the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to hit the general market before the end of the week, but following pre-releases recently, one cheap green card has already exploded in market worth.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub garnered widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness priced at one green and one colorless mana, the card features level 1 earthbending (arguably the most effective within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk here lies in its second ability: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub sold for $26.98. Following the early events, however, the market price escalated to nearly $50 with at least one listed as high as $60. What explains such high costs for this little creature? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.

When it arrives play, the cub transforms one land into a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it stays in play, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — in addition to other creatures you have that generate mana.

A clear choice to combine with includes Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces one green mana. But numerous alternative mana dorks out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 for two mana as an alternative.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, it's simple to summon an enormous high-cost monster on the board within a few turns. Momentum builds out of control with continued aggression after that.

By incorporating an additional hue using this method, cards like versatile mana producers are excellent picks that generate any mana color. And something like this powerful dryad allows you to put one extra land every round plus transforms your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana grants all of your permanents the power to tap and generate one mana of any color — even all creatures you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, however what closes out the game for a deck like this? An often-seen solution has been Ashaya. Power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests along with their other types. In other words, every single creature on your board may tap for two G if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from lots of lands (as with the previous card, P/T are equal to how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker works perfectly in this deck. Her static effect allows all Forests generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, this results in all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her main ability functions like a proto-earthbend, adding counters on a land, which is great but it isn't redundant with earthbending. The minus ability, however, renders all of your lands indestructible and allows you to draw out all the remaining forests in the deck. If you can actually activate this power, it almost certainly the game ends.

The cub is pretty much essential in any decks using green and Avatar focusing on Earthbending. When branching into red and green, you can use Bumi. This card features earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt in combat, all land creatures are ready again for another attack. While that version is a beloved leader, the cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the popular pick in the Avatar set.