🔗 Share this article

the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set isn't set to get a wider release until later this week, however due to early access events recently, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in market worth.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature garnered significant interest. A 2/2 priced at a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub features the Earthbend 1 ability (perhaps the best among the four bending abilities in the set). Its key advantage here comes from its second ability: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub sold for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, yet, the going rate has shot up to $49.66 and one seller offering as high as $60. What explains such high costs on this adorable card? Mainly because of the incredible mana acceleration it enables.

As it hits the battlefield, the cub turns a terrain card so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it is not removed, each affected land generates double mana — in addition to any creatures you have which tap for mana.

An ideal partner for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate G mana. Yet numerous other mana generation creatures out there. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value in comparison.

Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you may quickly play a very big high-cost creature into play by round three or four. Momentum builds exponentially by maintaining dominance from that point.

When adding an additional hue with this approach, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly which produce any color of mana. And something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove lets you play another terrain per turn AND transforms all of your lands 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 capacity to tap and generate a mana of any type — which covers all creatures in play.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong in terms of accelerating your resources, yet how do you win in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, plus it turns each creature you own into Forests in addition to other subtypes. In other words, all your creatures on your board may produce double green if used for mana.

Another creature is a costly, large threat which gains from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, P/T match the number of lands you control).

Nissa fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities causes Forest lands produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means those lands generate three green mana.) One loyalty ability functions like a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters to a noncreature land, which is great but it isn't redundant with earthbending. The minus ability, on the other hand, renders all of your lands unbreakable enabling you to put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in your deck. Should you manage to use that ability, this typically means you win.

This card is nearly mandatory for any kind of green Avatar deck that use Earthbending. When branching into red-green, you can use this legendary card. This card features earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt to an opponent, land creatures become untapped and may attack once more. While that version has become a fan favorite Commander, the cub will surely stay one of the most, maybe the sought-after card from this expansion.