the popular card game’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to become widely available until later this week, yet following prerelease weekends this past weekend, one cheap green card has already exploded in market worth.
From the initial reveals, this small creature garnered significant interest. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, the card features the Earthbend 1 ability (possibly the best among the elemental mechanics available). Its key advantage here comes from an additional effect: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.
When first listed, Badgermole Cub could be purchased for $26.98. Following the early events, though, the market price has shot up above $45 with at least one listed as high as $60. The reason for premium pricing for this little creature? Mostly because of the explosive mana ramping it provides.
When it arrives the board, Badgermole Cub turns a terrain card into a creature that has earthbending. Combined with its other power, while it is not removed, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — along with other creatures in your control that produce resources.
The obvious go-to for synergy is this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 that produces one green mana. Yet many creatures that make mana available. Druid of the Cowl is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana instead.
By playing lands, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, you can easily get an enormous and very expensive creature on the board early in the game. The situation escalates exponentially with continued aggression from there.
If you dip into an additional hue using this method, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options that generate any color of mana. Additionally, this powerful dryad enables playing one extra land per turn AND transforms your entire land base providing all land types. You can also consider for example the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana grants every card you own the ability to produce any color mana — including each creature in play.
Badgermole Cub may be OP regarding boosting mana production, but what’s the endgame finisher for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its stats match how many lands you have, and it makes all of your nontoken creatures into Forests in addition to other subtypes. In other words, each creature you control may tap for two G if used for mana.
This additional option is a costly, large threat that thrives with a high land count (like Ashaya, P/T are based on your land total).
This Planeswalker fits really well as a go-to Planeswalker. Her passive ability causes all Forests tap for one more G. (Combined with earthbend, that means all earthbend forests produce triple green.) One loyalty ability functions like a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with earthbend. The minus ability, on the other hand, grants each land you control immune to destruction and lets you search for your remaining Forests from your library. If you can actually activate this power, this typically means game over.
The cub is pretty much essential in any decks using green and Avatar that use the earthbend mechanic. If you dip into red and green, consider Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and when it hits a player to a player, each animated land untap and may attack once more. While that version is a beloved leader, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain one of, if not the most sought-after card from this expansion.
