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the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set will not hit the general market until later this week, yet due to prerelease weekends this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, the earthbending cub attracted significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness requiring G and 1 mana, the card has level 1 earthbending (possibly the strongest within the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk here lies in another power: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, add an additional green mana.

When first listed, the card sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, yet, the market price has shot up above $45 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it enables.

When it arrives the battlefield, this creature turns a land so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, while it stays in play, every earthbent land generates double mana — plus any creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice for synergy would be the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. However many alternative mana dorks out there. Another option is a higher-cost choice that’s a 1/3 costing two mana in comparison.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, alongside this card, you may quickly play an enormous high-cost threat into play early in the game. Momentum builds exponentially with continued aggression after that.

If you dip into an additional hue with this approach, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly which produce any color of mana. Another card, this powerful dryad enables playing another terrain each turn plus transforms all of your lands into every basic land type. It's also worth trying something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana gives each permanent you control the ability to produce one mana of any color — including all creatures you have on the board.

This card might seem overpowered regarding accelerating your resources, yet how do you win in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Power and toughness are both equal to the number of lands you control, and it makes your non-token creatures to be Forests as well as their original types. In other words, each creature you control can generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness are equal to your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability makes all Forests produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in those lands produce triple green.) One loyalty ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, makes each land you control indestructible enabling you to draw out all the remaining forests from your library. Once you trigger the ultimate, it almost certainly game over.

The cub is a must-have for all green-based Avatar strategies focusing on Earthbending. By including red-green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and when damage is dealt to an opponent, each animated land untap and can attack again. While that version is a beloved leader, the cub is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the desired card in the Avatar set.