Among Avatar's most charming collectible cards is a nasty small contender.

the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar will not become widely available until later this week, but following pre-releases over the last few days, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in value.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub garnered a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub includes level 1 earthbending (arguably the most effective within the elemental mechanics available). The major perk in its design lies in another power: Each time you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, this card could be purchased at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, though, the going rate escalated above $45 and one seller offering for sale at $60.00. Why are we seeing Vivi prices for this little creature? Mostly because of the rapid resource generation it provides.

As it hits play, the cub turns a land into a creature that has earthbending. And with that second ability, if it remains on the board, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — plus any creatures on your side which tap for mana.

A clear choice for synergy is the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 that produces G mana. Yet numerous alternative mana dorks in the game. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value in comparison.

By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, and Badgermole Cub, you may quickly play an enormous and very expensive creature into play within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression from that point.

When adding a secondary color in this strategy, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are all great options which produce all five colors. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature enables playing an additional land each turn as well as makes your entire land base providing all land types. Another possibility is something like this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment provides all of your permanents the ability to be tapped for a mana of any type — including each creature you have on the board.

This card could be too strong when it comes to accelerating your resources, but how do you win with this archetype? One obvious and popular answer is this legendary creature. Its stats are both equal to the number of lands you control, and it changes your non-token creatures Forests along with other subtypes. In other words, all your creatures in play can generate two green mana if used for mana.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that thrives with a high land count (similar to Ashaya, its power and toughness are equal to how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker fits really well as a staple. Her static effect allows every Forest generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, this results in each one generate three green mana.) Her plus ability acts as an early earthbend, adding counters on a land, which is great but does not overlap with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, grants your entire land base unbreakable and lets you draw out all the remaining forests in your deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it’s pretty much the game ends.

The cub is a must-have for all decks using green and Avatar built around Earthbending. When branching into red-green, consider Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and if damage is dealt to a player, each animated land untap and can attack again. Although this card has emerged as a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub will surely stay one of, if not the most sought-after card in the collaboration.

Robert Smith
Robert Smith

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