A standout from Avatar's cutest Magic cards proves to be a nasty little contender.

Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar won’t get a wider release in the coming days, yet due to pre-releases over the last few days, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in price.

Even during previews, Badgermole Cub drew a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness that costs a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub includes Earthbending 1 (possibly the most effective of the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk in its design is another power: If a creature is tapped to produce mana, it provides bonus green mana.

At its cheapest, the card could be purchased for $26.98. Following the early events, however, its value escalated to $49.66 including listings as high as $60. The reason for Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mainly because of the explosive mana ramping it enables.

When it arrives play, Badgermole Cub converts a terrain card so it becomes a creature granting it earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it is not removed, each affected land produces twice the mana — along with any creatures on your side that produce resources.

A clear choice to combine with includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. But many creatures that make mana in the game. Another option costs a bit more a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.

Deploying terrain, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, it's simple to summon an enormous high-cost creature on the battlefield by round three or four. The situation escalates exponentially with continued aggression from there.

When adding another color using this method, cards like Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are excellent picks which produce any color of mana. Additionally, this powerful dryad lets you play another terrain per turn plus turns your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider such as a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment gives every card you own the ability to tap and generate any color mana — which covers each creature you have on the board.

Badgermole Cub might seem overpowered in terms of boosting mana production, yet what closes out the game with this archetype? A common and powerful choice already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness are both equal to the number of lands you control, and it changes each creature you own Forests along with their original types. This means, every single creature in play can tap for two G by tapping.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, its power and toughness are based on how many lands you have).

This Planeswalker works perfectly in this deck. One of her abilities causes all Forests produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means each one produce triple green.) One loyalty ability acts as a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, handy though it doesn't stack with earthbending. The minus ability, though, makes your entire land base immune to destruction and allows you to draw out every Forest left in your deck. Once you trigger this power, it almost certainly the game ends.

This card is pretty much essential for any kind of decks using green and Avatar that use Earthbending. When branching into red-green, you can use this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, plus if it hits a player to a player, each animated land untap for another attack. While that version has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cub is set to be one of, if not the most sought-after card in the Avatar set.

Jennifer Barker
Jennifer Barker

Elara is a passionate writer and naturalist who crafts evocative tales inspired by the wilderness and human experiences.