One of the Avatar-themed cutest Magic cards is a formidable little force.

Magic: The Gathering’s Avatar crossover set won’t get a wider release in the coming days, yet following early access events this past weekend, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub garnered significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 priced at one green and one colorless mana, the card includes the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the most effective within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk in its design is its second ability: Whenever a creature is tapped to produce mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, the card sold at around $27. Following the early events, yet, the market price jumped to nearly $50 with at least one listed as high as $60. Why are we seeing premium pricing on this adorable card? Mainly due to the incredible mana acceleration it can produce.

When it arrives the board, the cub converts a land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it is not removed, those lands yields two mana instead of one — in addition to mana-producing creatures you have which tap for mana.

A clear choice to combine with includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for a green resource. But there are plenty of alternative mana dorks in the game. This particular druid costs a bit more with stats 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, it's simple to summon a massive high-cost creature on the battlefield early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially by maintaining dominance from that point.

When adding an additional hue in this strategy, options such as versatile mana producers work perfectly that generate any mana color. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing an additional land each turn AND transforms all of your lands so they count as all basics. Another possibility is something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment provides each permanent you control the capacity to produce any color mana — including each creature in play.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered when it comes to accelerating your resources, yet how do you win with this archetype? An often-seen solution is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its stats are both equal to your land count, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests along with other subtypes. This means, each creature you control can tap for two G when tapped.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from a high land count (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are equal to your land total).

Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability allows Forest lands tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means each one generate three green mana.) Her main ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, handy but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, however, makes each land you control immune to destruction enabling you to search for all the remaining forests in your deck. Should you manage to use that ability, it almost certainly you win.

This card is a must-have for any kind of decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. When branching into Gruul colors, consider Bumi Unleashed. He has level 4 earthbending, and if it hits a player in combat, land creatures untap for another attack. While that version is a beloved leader, this small creature will surely stay one of the most, maybe the desired card in the Avatar set.