Magic: The Gathering’s special Avatar expansion isn't set to hit the general market before the end of the week, however following pre-releases recently, a low-cost green spell saw a sharp rise in value.
Even during previews, Badgermole Cub attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 that costs a single green and one generic mana, Badgermole Cub includes Earthbending 1 (perhaps the most effective of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). Its key advantage here lies in its second ability: Each time a creature is tapped to produce mana, it provides bonus green mana.
Initially, Badgermole Cub was available for $26.98. After the pre-release weekend, yet, its value has shot up above $45 with at least one listed as high as $60. Why are we seeing Vivi prices on this adorable card? Primarily due to the rapid resource generation it can produce.
As it hits play, this creature transforms one land to a creature land that has earthbending. Alongside its mana-doubling effect, while it remains on the board, those lands produces twice the mana — plus other creatures on your side that generate mana.
An ideal partner for maximum effect would be Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that taps to generate a green resource. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature for two mana instead.
By playing lands, creatures that tap for mana, alongside this card, you may quickly play an enormous pricey threat on the board by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on after that.
When adding a secondary color with this approach, options such as versatile mana producers are all great options that can make all five colors. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put another terrain each turn plus turns your entire land base so they count as all basics. Another possibility is something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, which for six mana provides every card you own the power to produce any color mana — which covers each creature in play.
This card might seem overpowered regarding boosting mana production, but what closes out the game for a deck like this? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness are set by your land count, and it makes your non-token creatures into Forests as well as their other types. In other words, each creature on your board can generate two green mana when tapped.
Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat which gains from a high land count (as with the previous card, its power and toughness are based on how many lands you have).
This Planeswalker is an excellent fit as a staple. Her static effect makes Forest lands generate an additional green mana. (With a Badgermole Cub, so each one produce triple green.) Her plus ability acts as a proto-earthbend, adding counters on a land, handy but does not overlap with earthbending. Her ultimate, though, grants your entire land base indestructible and lets you put onto the battlefield every Forest left in the deck. If you can actually activate this power, this typically means game over.
The cub is nearly mandatory in any green-based Avatar strategies built around Earthbending. If you dip into red-green, you can use Bumi Unleashed. This card features earthbend 4, and when he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land untap for another attack. Even though Bumi has emerged as a beloved leader, this small creature is set to be one of the most, maybe the desired card from this expansion.
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