Among the Avatar-themed most adorable collectible cards proves to be a powerful little force.

MTG’s special Avatar expansion won’t become widely available until later this week, however due to pre-releases this past weekend, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in market worth.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub drew a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub has level 1 earthbending (arguably the best among the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk in its design lies in another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, Badgermole Cub could be purchased for $26.98. Post-prerelease, however, the market price has shot up to nearly $50 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. The reason for such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mostly thanks to the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

As it hits the battlefield, Badgermole Cub transforms one land into a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, if it remains on the board, those lands generates double mana — along with mana-producing creatures you have which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for synergy includes Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate G mana. But there are plenty of creatures that make mana in the game. Another option is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, you can easily get a massive high-cost threat on the board early in the game. Momentum builds out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

If you dip into an additional hue using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks which produce any color of mana. Additionally, this powerful dryad lets you play one extra land per turn as well as turns every land you control so they count as all basics. You can also consider for example this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana provides each permanent you control the ability to be tapped for any color mana — even each creature in play.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong regarding accelerating your resources, yet how do you win with this archetype? A common and powerful choice already is this legendary creature. Its stats match the number of lands you control, and it makes your non-token creatures into Forests as well as other subtypes. Essentially, every single creature in play can generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its stats are equal to how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a staple. Her static effect causes Forest lands tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, so all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her main ability functions like an early earthbend, adding counters on a land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her ultimate, though, grants your entire land base indestructible and lets you put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests from your library. Should you manage to use the ultimate, it’s pretty much game over.

The cub is a must-have for any kind of decks using green and Avatar built around earthbend. If you dip into Gruul colors, there’s Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, plus if he deals combat damage to an opponent, all land creatures become untapped for another attack. While that version has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub will surely stay among the top, possibly the desired card from this expansion.