A standout from the Avatar-themed cutest collectible cards proves to be a nasty little contender.

the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set will not get a wider release in the coming days, but following prerelease weekends this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in market worth.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub attracted significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, the card includes Earthbending 1 (perhaps the best of the elemental mechanics available). The real boon here is an additional effect: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, the card could be purchased below $30. After the pre-release weekend, yet, its value has shot up to $49.66 with at least one listed as high as $60. What explains premium pricing on this adorable card? Mostly because of the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

When it arrives play, the cub converts a land into a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, as long as it remains on the board, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — along with mana-producing creatures in your control which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for synergy would be this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for a green resource. But many alternative mana dorks in the game. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value instead.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get a very big pricey threat into play within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling out of control with continued aggression from that point.

When adding a secondary color in this strategy, options such as versatile mana producers work perfectly that can make any color of mana. And something like this powerful dryad allows you to put another terrain each turn as well as makes all of your lands into every basic land type. You can also consider for example a card called A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants every card you own the ability to be tapped for any color mana — which covers each creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub could be too strong regarding ramping up your mana generation, however what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness match how many lands you have, and it changes your non-token creatures Forests as well as other subtypes. Essentially, all your creatures on your board may produce double green by tapping.

Another creature provides a high-cost, powerful body that thrives with a high land count (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness are equal to the number of lands you control).

This Planeswalker fits really well in this deck. Her static effect makes every Forest produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means those lands produce triple green.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, placing counters on a land, handy but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, though, grants all of your lands immune to destruction enabling you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in your deck. Should you manage to use the ultimate, it almost certainly you win.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential for all green-based Avatar strategies built around Earthbending. If you dip into red-green, consider this legendary card. He has level 4 earthbending, and if it hits a player to an opponent, all land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. Even though Bumi has become a beloved leader, this small creature is set to be one of, if not the most desired card from this expansion.

Tracy Hubbard
Tracy Hubbard

A digital journalist passionate about uncovering viral trends and sharing compelling stories that captivate readers worldwide.