🔗 Share this article

MTG’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to get a wider release in the coming days, yet due to pre-releases over the last few days, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in price.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness requiring one green and one colorless mana, the card includes level 1 earthbending (perhaps the strongest of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The real boon here is another power: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, Badgermole Cub was available below $30. Post-prerelease, though, the market price has shot up above $45 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. What explains Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the explosive mana ramping it provides.

Upon entering the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns a terrain card to a creature land that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, if it stays in play, those lands generates double mana — plus mana-producing creatures in your control that produce resources.

A clear choice for maximum effect is this one-mana elf, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate a green resource. Yet numerous creatures that make mana available. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

Using land cards, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, you may quickly play a very big pricey creature on the board by round three or four. Momentum builds rapidly by maintaining dominance after that.

By incorporating an additional hue with this approach, examples including versatile mana producers are all great options that can make all five colors. Another card, a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land every round as well as makes your entire land base into every basic land type. Another possibility is something like this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment provides each permanent you control the power to produce one mana of any color — even all creatures under your control.

The cub could be too strong when it comes to boosting mana production, yet what closes out the game in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness match how many lands you have, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests along with their other types. Essentially, each creature on your board can generate two green mana when tapped.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that benefits from lots of lands (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are based on how many lands you have).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a staple. One of her abilities makes all Forests tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, this results in all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, placing counters on a land, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbend. The minus ability, though, grants all of your lands unbreakable enabling you to draw out your remaining Forests in your deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it almost certainly the game ends.

This card is nearly mandatory in any green-based Avatar strategies that use Earthbending. When branching into red-green, there’s this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, plus if he deals combat damage in combat, each animated land become untapped for another attack. While that version has become a popular Commander choice, the cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most desired card in the Avatar set.