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MTG’s special Avatar expansion will not hit the general market before the end of the week, however due to prerelease weekends recently, a low-cost green spell experienced a surge in price.

Even during previews, this small creature drew a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness requiring G and 1 mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the best among the elemental mechanics available). The major perk in its design comes from another power: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, you gain one extra green mana.

Initially, this card sold for $26.98. Post-prerelease, yet, the going rate has shot up above $45 including listings for sale at $60.00. Why are we seeing Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the incredible mana acceleration it provides.

Upon entering play, the cub converts a land into a creature with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it remains on the board, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — in addition to any creatures in your control which tap for mana.

A clear choice to combine with includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate one green mana. Yet there are plenty of creatures that make mana out there. Another option is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 at a two-mana value as an alternative.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, you may quickly play a very big high-cost monster on the board by round three or four. The situation escalates rapidly if you keep the pressure on after that.

By incorporating a secondary color using this method, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that generate any mana color. Another card, a useful enchantment creature lets you play one extra land every round as well as transforms every land you control so they count as all basics. You can also consider for example this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment grants each permanent you control the ability to tap and generate a mana of any type — which covers all creatures you have on the board.

This card may be OP when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, but what closes out the game with this archetype? A common and powerful choice is this legendary creature. Its power and toughness are both equal to your land count, plus it turns each creature you own Forests as well as other subtypes. This means, each creature in play is able to generate two green mana by tapping.

This additional option is a costly, large threat that benefits from lots of lands (as with the previous card, its stats are based on how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker works perfectly as a staple. Her passive ability makes all Forests tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, that means those lands yield three G.) Her main ability acts as an early earthbend, placing counters on terrain, which is great but it isn't redundant with earthbend. Her ultimate, on the other hand, makes each land you control indestructible and lets you search for all the remaining forests from your library. If you can actually activate that ability, this typically means you win.

Badgermole Cub is pretty much essential for all green-based Avatar strategies focusing on Earthbending. When branching into red-green, there’s Bumi. He has earthbend 4, and when it hits a player to an opponent, all land creatures untap and can attack again. Even though Bumi has become a fan favorite Commander, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most sought-after card in the Avatar set.