🔗 Share this article

the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion won’t become widely available in the coming days, yet following early access events over the last few days, an affordable green creature has already exploded in market worth.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. A 2/2 that costs one green and one colorless mana, the card has level 1 earthbending (perhaps the best among the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk here is another power: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, the card could be purchased at around $27. Following the early events, though, the market price escalated above $45 including listings priced at sixty dollars. The reason for premium pricing for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

Upon entering play, the cub turns a terrain card so it becomes a creature that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it stays in play, those lands produces twice the mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice to combine with is this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. Yet many creatures that make mana in the game. Another option costs a bit more that’s a 1/3 costing two mana instead.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, you may quickly play a very big high-cost monster on the board within a few turns. The situation escalates out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

When adding another color with this approach, cards like versatile mana producers are excellent picks that generate any mana color. And something like a useful enchantment creature enables playing one extra land per turn AND turns every land you control so they count as all basics. Another possibility is such as a card called A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants every card you own the power to be tapped for a mana of any type — including any creature in play.

This card could be too strong when it comes to accelerating your resources, but what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? An often-seen solution is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its stats match the number of lands you control, plus it turns your non-token creatures to be Forests along with other subtypes. Essentially, each creature in play can produce double green when tapped.

This additional option is a costly, large threat that thrives with many terrain cards (like Ashaya, P/T are based on your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect causes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in each one generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability functions like a proto-earthbend, adding counters on terrain, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her ultimate, though, makes each land you control immune to destruction enabling you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests from your library. Once you trigger that ability, it almost certainly game over.

Badgermole Cub is a must-have for any kind of decks using green and Avatar built around earthbend. When branching into red and green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. He has earthbend 4, and if it hits a player to a player, each animated land untap and can attack again. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, the cub will surely stay one of, if not the most desired card in the collaboration.