Among the Avatar-themed most adorable Magic cards proves to be a nasty small powerhouse.
the popular card game’s collaboration with Avatar won’t hit the general market before the end of the week, however following pre-releases over the last few days, one cheap green card saw a sharp rise in value.
From the initial reveals, this small creature drew a lot of attention. A 2/2 requiring G and 1 mana, it includes Earthbending 1 (arguably the best of the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk here lies in another power: If you tap a creature for mana, you gain one extra green mana.
When first listed, the card was available for $26.98. Following the early events, yet, its value jumped to nearly $50 including listings for sale at $60.00. The reason for premium pricing on this adorable card? Mostly because of the explosive mana ramping it provides.
Upon entering the battlefield, Badgermole Cub turns a land so it becomes a creature with earthbend. Combined with its other power, as long as it is not removed, those lands produces twice the mana — in addition to mana-producing creatures on your side that produce resources.
A clear choice for maximum effect includes this one-mana elf, an inexpensive 1/1 that taps to generate one green mana. But there are plenty of creatures that make mana out there. Another option is a more expensive alternative with stats 1/3 for two mana as an alternative.
Deploying terrain, creatures that tap for mana, and Badgermole Cub, you can easily get an enormous high-cost threat into play within a few turns. And things just keep spiraling exponentially by maintaining dominance after that.
If you dip into another color with this approach, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly that generate any color of mana. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature allows you to put an additional land every round plus makes all of your lands so they count as all basics. You can also consider something like a card called A Realm Reborn, at a six-mana investment gives all of your permanents the power to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers all creatures in play.
This card might seem overpowered regarding accelerating your resources, yet how do you win for a deck like this? An often-seen solution is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, plus it turns each creature you own into Forests in addition to other subtypes. In other words, every single creature on your board may produce double green if used for mana.
Harmonious Grovestrider is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from many terrain cards (similar to Ashaya, its stats match how many lands you have).
Nissa is an excellent fit as a staple. One of her abilities allows every Forest produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, this results in all earthbend forests produce triple green.) Her main ability is essentially a form of land animation, putting +1/+1 counters on terrain, which is great though it doesn't stack with earthbend. Her -8 ability, though, renders each land you control indestructible and lets you draw out all the remaining forests from your library. Once you trigger this power, this typically means you win.
Badgermole Cub is nearly mandatory for any kind of green Avatar deck focusing on the earthbend mechanic. When branching into Gruul colors, consider Bumi Unleashed. It possesses earthbend 4, and if he deals combat damage to an opponent, each animated land become untapped and can attack again. Although this card has become a popular Commander choice, the cute little Badgermole Cub is definitely going to remain among the top, possibly the sought-after card in the collaboration.