🔗 Share this article

MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t hit the general market before the end of the week, but following pre-releases over the last few days, one cheap green card experienced a surge in value.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs G and 1 mana, the card includes the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the best among the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage with this card is another power: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, the card sold below $30. Following the early events, though, the market price has shot up above $45 including listings as high as $60. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it provides.

As it hits the board, the cub turns a terrain card 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 — along with mana-producing creatures in your control that produce resources.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces a green resource. However numerous alternative mana dorks in the game. Another option is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature costing two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon a massive and very expensive threat on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially by maintaining dominance after that.

If you dip into another color with this approach, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks that can make any mana color. Another card, this powerful dryad enables playing an additional land each turn as well as makes every land you control providing all land types. It's also worth trying for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana provides each permanent you control the capacity to be tapped for any color mana — even each creature you have on the board.

This card may be OP when it comes to boosting mana production, but what closes out the game with this archetype? An often-seen solution already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness are both equal to the number of lands you control, plus it turns your non-token creatures into Forests as well as their other types. Essentially, every single creature on your board can produce double green by tapping.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, P/T are based on how many lands you have).

Nissa fits really well as a staple. One of her abilities causes all Forests tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, so all earthbend forests produce triple green.) Her main ability acts as a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her -8 ability, though, grants your entire land base immune to destruction and lets you put onto the battlefield every Forest left in the deck. Once you trigger the ultimate, it almost certainly game over.

This card is nearly mandatory for all decks using green and Avatar built around Earthbending. If you dip into red-green, consider Bumi. He has earthbend 4, plus if he deals combat damage to a player, all land creatures are ready again for another attack. Although this card has become a beloved leader, the cub is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the popular pick in the collaboration.