🔗 Share this article

MTG’s Avatar crossover set will not get a wider release before the end of the week, but after early access events over the last few days, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in price.

Throughout the spoiler season, this small creature drew widespread focus. This two-power, two-toughness priced at one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub includes Earthbending 1 (perhaps the strongest among the elemental mechanics available). The major perk with this card lies in an additional effect: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

Initially, Badgermole Cub was available at around $27. Following the early events, however, its value escalated to nearly $50 with at least one listed priced at sixty dollars. What explains such high costs for this cute lil guy? Mainly thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.

Upon entering the battlefield, Badgermole Cub converts a land into a creature that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it remains on the board, those lands yields two mana instead of one — in addition to any creatures you have which tap for mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect includes Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate G mana. But numerous alternative mana dorks out there. Druid of the Cowl costs a bit more with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a massive pricey threat on the battlefield early in the game. Momentum builds out of control by maintaining dominance from there.

When adding a secondary color using this method, options such as versatile mana producers are all great options which produce any mana color. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing another terrain each turn as well as transforms your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example a card called A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants every card you own the ability to tap and generate a mana of any type — which covers any creature under your control.

The cub might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, but what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? A common and powerful choice has been Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it changes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests along with other subtypes. Essentially, each creature in play may tap for two G by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, P/T are equal to the number of lands you control).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World works perfectly as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability makes all Forests tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, so those lands produce triple green.) One loyalty ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbending. Her -8 ability, however, grants all of your lands indestructible and lets you put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in the deck. Should you manage to use that ability, this typically means the game ends.

The cub is pretty much essential for all decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red-green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt in combat, all land creatures become untapped and can attack again. Even though Bumi has become a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of the most, maybe the sought-after card in the Avatar set.