One of Avatar's most adorable Magic cards turns out to be a nasty little force.

MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t hit the general market in the coming days, but after pre-releases recently, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in market worth.

From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring a single green and one generic mana, the card has level 1 earthbending (arguably the most effective of the elemental mechanics available). The major perk with this card is an additional effect: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, you gain one extra green mana.

At its cheapest, the card sold below $30. After the pre-release weekend, yet, the going rate jumped to nearly $50 and one seller offering priced at sixty dollars. The reason for Vivi prices for this little creature? Primarily due to the explosive mana ramping it can produce.

Upon entering play, this creature converts a terrain card into a creature with earthbend. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it is not removed, each affected land produces twice the mana — plus other creatures you have that generate mana.

The obvious go-to for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for G mana. But many other mana generation creatures in the game. This particular druid costs a bit more a 1/3 creature costing two mana instead.

By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon an enormous pricey creature on the battlefield early in the game. And things just keep spiraling rapidly with continued aggression from there.

By incorporating an additional hue using this method, examples including Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid are all great options which produce all five colors. And something like a useful enchantment creature allows you to put another terrain every round AND transforms all of your lands so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying something like this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana provides all of your permanents the ability to be tapped for one mana of any color — which covers any creature in play.

The cub may be OP when it comes to ramping up your mana generation, however what closes out the game in such a strategy? A common and powerful choice has been this legendary creature. Power and toughness are set by your land count, plus it turns all of your nontoken creatures to be Forests in addition to other subtypes. This means, all your creatures in play is able to produce double green by tapping.

This additional option provides a high-cost, powerful body that benefits from a high land count (as with the previous card, its power and toughness match the number of lands you control).

Nissa fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities causes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (If you have the cub, this results in those lands produce triple green.) One loyalty ability functions like a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, handy though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, however, makes each land you control unbreakable and lets you search for every Forest left in your deck. Once you trigger that ability, it’s pretty much game over.

This card is a must-have in any decks using green and Avatar built around Earthbending. If you dip into red and green, you can use this legendary card. This card features earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land untap and may attack once more. While that version has become a popular Commander choice, this small creature is set to be one of, if not the most desired card in the collaboration.

Marissa Miller
Marissa Miller

A passionate tech journalist and gamer with over a decade of experience covering emerging trends and innovations.