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Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar won’t get a wider release before the end of the week, but following prerelease weekends this past weekend, an affordable green creature has already exploded in price.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub attracted significant interest. A 2/2 that costs a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub has Earthbending 1 (possibly the strongest within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here lies in another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, this card could be purchased below $30. Post-prerelease, though, the market price jumped to $49.66 and one seller offering as high as $60. The reason for premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mostly because of the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

Upon entering the battlefield, this creature converts one land to a creature land that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, as long as it stays in play, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — plus mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

The obvious go-to to combine with is Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces a green resource. But there are plenty of creatures that make mana out there. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

Deploying terrain, creatures that tap for mana, plus the cub, you can easily get a very big high-cost creature on the board within a few turns. The situation escalates rapidly by maintaining dominance from that point.

If you dip into an additional hue with this approach, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that can make any mana color. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put one extra land each turn AND turns all of your lands providing all land types. You can also consider such as this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment grants each permanent you control the ability to tap and generate a mana of any type — which covers all creatures you have on the board.

This card might seem overpowered regarding accelerating your resources, however what closes out the game in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness match how many lands you have, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to their original types. Essentially, each creature on your board is able to generate two green mana by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with a high land count (like Ashaya, P/T are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa is an excellent fit in this deck. One of her abilities allows all Forests generate an additional green mana. (Combined with earthbend, so each one produce triple green.) Her main ability is essentially a form of land animation, placing counters on terrain, which is great but does not overlap with earthbending. The minus ability, though, grants all of your lands unbreakable enabling you to search for your remaining Forests from your library. Once you trigger this power, this typically means you win.

The cub is pretty much essential in any green-based Avatar strategies that use earthbend. If you dip into red-green, consider this legendary card. It possesses earthbend 4, and if it hits a player in combat, all land creatures untap and can attack again. Even though Bumi has become a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the popular pick from this expansion.