🔗 Share this article

the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to hit the general market before the end of the week, but after early access events recently, 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 priced at G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub has level 1 earthbending (possibly the most effective within the four bending abilities in the set). The real boon with this card is another power: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub was available below $30. Following the early events, yet, the going rate escalated above $45 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. The reason for such high costs on this adorable card? Mostly due to the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

When it arrives play, the cub transforms one land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it remains on the board, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — plus any creatures in your control that produce resources.

An ideal partner for maximum effect is Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for one green mana. However there are plenty of other mana generation creatures available. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a very big pricey monster on the battlefield by round three or four. Momentum builds out of control by maintaining dominance from that point.

By incorporating a secondary color in this strategy, examples including these mana-fixing creatures work perfectly that can make any mana color. Additionally, this powerful dryad allows you to put another terrain per turn as well as turns every land you control into every basic land type. It's also worth trying something like this six-mana enchantment, which for six mana grants every card you own the power to tap and generate a mana of any type — which covers any creature under your control.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, yet what closes out the game in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness match your land count, and it makes your non-token creatures to be Forests along with their original types. In other words, each creature on your board may tap for two G when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that benefits from a high land count (similar to Ashaya, its stats match your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. Her static effect causes every Forest generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means each one produce triple green.) Her main ability functions like a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, which is great but does not overlap with earthbending. The minus ability, on the other hand, grants your entire land base indestructible and lets you put onto the battlefield every Forest left in the deck. If you can actually activate this power, it almost certainly the game ends.

This card is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red and green, there’s Bumi. He has level 4 earthbending, plus if he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land untap and may attack once more. While that version has become a fan favorite Commander, the cub is set to be one of, if not the most popular pick in the collaboration.