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the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar will not become widely available in the coming days, but following prerelease weekends this past weekend, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in price.

Even during previews, this small creature garnered a lot of attention. This two-power, two-toughness priced at G and 1 mana, it includes the Earthbend 1 ability (arguably the strongest within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). Its key advantage in its design lies in its second ability: Whenever mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

When first listed, the card was available for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, however, the market price jumped to nearly $50 with at least one listed for sale at $60.00. The reason for Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.

When it arrives play, Badgermole Cub converts a terrain card into a creature that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, if it is not removed, those lands produces twice the mana — along with other creatures on your side which tap for mana.

An ideal partner for synergy would be the classic Llanowar Elves, a cheap 1/1 that taps to generate a green resource. Yet many other mana generation creatures in the game. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana instead.

By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, it's simple to summon an enormous and very expensive monster into play by round three or four. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on after that.

By incorporating a secondary color in this strategy, examples including these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that can make any color of mana. And something like this powerful dryad lets you play one extra land each turn plus transforms your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is for example a card called A Realm Reborn, costing six mana gives all of your permanents the ability to be tapped for any color mana — which covers each creature under your control.

This card may be OP regarding ramping up your mana generation, yet how do you win for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya. Its power and toughness are set by the number of lands you control, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to other subtypes. Essentially, each creature in play may tap for two G by tapping.

Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from lots of lands (similar to Ashaya, its stats are equal to your land total).

Nissa works perfectly in this deck. Her passive ability allows every Forest produce extra green. (If you have the cub, this results in each one generate three green mana.) Her main ability acts as a form of land animation, placing counters on a land, a useful effect but it isn't redundant with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, on the other hand, grants all of your lands immune to destruction enabling you to draw out all the remaining forests in the deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, it almost certainly game over.

The cub is pretty much essential in any green Avatar deck focusing on earthbend. When branching into red-green, there’s this legendary card. He has earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land untap and may attack once more. Although this card has emerged as a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of, if not the most sought-after card in the collaboration.