Among Avatar's most adorable collectible cards turns out to be a formidable little contender.
Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration with Avatar won’t hit the general market before the end of the week, however due to prerelease weekends recently, a low-cost green spell has already exploded in price.
Throughout the spoiler season, Badgermole Cub attracted significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness that costs G and 1 mana, the card features level 1 earthbending (perhaps the strongest within the elemental mechanics available). The major perk in its design lies in an additional effect: If you tap a creature for mana, add an additional green mana.
Initially, the card could be purchased below $30. Following the early events, however, the market price has shot up to $49.66 and one seller offering as high as $60. The reason for Vivi prices on this adorable card? Mostly thanks to the rapid resource generation it provides.
When it arrives play, the cub transforms a land to a creature land with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, as long as it remains on the board, each affected land generates double mana — along with other creatures you have which tap for mana.
An ideal partner to combine with is the classic Llanowar Elves, an inexpensive 1/1 which can be tapped for one green mana. Yet there are plenty of creatures that make mana available. Druid of the Cowl is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature costing two mana instead.
By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, plus the cub, it's simple to summon a very big high-cost monster on the board within a few turns. The situation escalates exponentially if you keep the pressure on after that.
By incorporating an additional hue using this method, options such as these mana-fixing creatures are excellent picks that generate any mana color. Additionally, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove enables playing an additional land per turn AND makes your entire land base so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment provides every card you own the capacity to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers each creature you have on the board.
This card might seem overpowered in terms of ramping up your mana generation, but how do you win with this archetype? An often-seen solution is this legendary creature. Its stats are both equal to the number of lands you control, and it changes each creature you own to be Forests along with their original types. Essentially, all your creatures you control is able to produce double green if used for mana.
Harmonious Grovestrider provides a high-cost, powerful body that thrives with a high land count (similar to Ashaya, P/T are based on your land total).
This Planeswalker is an excellent fit as a staple. One of her abilities makes Forest lands produce extra green. (Combined with earthbend, that means all earthbend forests generate three green mana.) Her plus ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her ultimate, though, makes all of your lands indestructible enabling you to draw out every Forest left from your library. If you can actually activate that ability, this typically means you win.
This card is nearly mandatory for all green-based Avatar strategies built around earthbend. By including Gruul colors, consider Bumi. It possesses earthbend 4, plus if damage is dealt in combat, all land creatures become untapped for another attack. Even though Bumi has become a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is set to be one of, if not the most popular pick from this expansion.