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MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t get a wider release until later this week, however due to pre-releases this past weekend, an affordable green creature has already exploded in value.

From the initial reveals, this small creature attracted significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness that costs G and 1 mana, the card features level 1 earthbending (possibly the best of the elemental mechanics available). The major perk here is its second ability: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.

At its cheapest, this card was available at around $27. After the pre-release weekend, yet, its value has shot up above $45 including listings for sale at $60.00. The reason for Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the incredible mana acceleration it enables.

As it hits the battlefield, the cub converts a terrain card into a creature that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it stays in play, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — along with any creatures you have that generate mana.

A clear choice for synergy is this one-mana elf, an inexpensive 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. Yet there are plenty of alternative mana dorks out there. This particular druid is a more expensive alternative with stats 1/3 for two mana as an alternative.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, and Badgermole Cub, you may quickly play a very big pricey threat on the battlefield by round three or four. The situation escalates out of control by maintaining dominance from that point.

When adding an additional hue using this method, examples including versatile mana producers are excellent picks that generate any color of mana. Another card, this powerful dryad allows you to put one extra land every round as well as turns your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider such as a card called A Realm Reborn, costing six mana grants all of your permanents the ability to produce a mana of any type — even each creature under your control.

This card might seem overpowered in terms of boosting mana production, however what’s the endgame finisher with this archetype? A common and powerful choice is this legendary creature. Its stats are set by the number of lands you control, and it makes your non-token creatures Forests in addition to other subtypes. In other words, every single creature in play may generate two green mana when tapped.

This additional option is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from a high land count (as with the previous card, P/T match how many lands you have).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities makes all Forests tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, this results in all earthbend forests yield three G.) Her main ability functions like an early earthbend, adding counters on a land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with earthbending. The minus ability, though, makes each land you control immune to destruction and allows you to put onto the battlefield your remaining Forests in your deck. Should you manage to use the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.

This card is nearly mandatory in any decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red-green, you can use this legendary card. It possesses level 4 earthbending, plus if damage is dealt to a player, each animated land are ready again for another attack. While that version has become a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most popular pick from this expansion.