MTG’s Avatar crossover set won’t hit the general market until later this week, but following prerelease weekends recently, an affordable green creature saw a sharp rise in price.
From the initial reveals, the earthbending cub attracted a lot of attention. A creature with stats 2/2 requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub includes level 1 earthbending (perhaps the strongest among the elemental mechanics available). The real boon in its design comes from an additional effect: If mana is generated by tapping a creature, it provides bonus green mana.
When first listed, Badgermole Cub was available below $30. Post-prerelease, yet, its value has shot up above $45 including listings priced at sixty dollars. Why are we seeing Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the explosive mana ramping it enables.
Upon entering the board, Badgermole Cub transforms a terrain card into a creature with earthbend. And with that second ability, if it is not removed, each affected land yields two mana instead of one — plus any creatures on your side that generate mana.
The obvious go-to to combine with includes the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature that produces G mana. Yet numerous alternative mana dorks available. This particular druid is a more expensive alternative that’s a 1/3 costing two mana instead.
By playing lands, dorks that generate resources, and Badgermole Cub, it's simple to summon a very big and very expensive monster on the battlefield by round three or four. The situation escalates out of control by maintaining dominance from there.
By incorporating a secondary color with this approach, options such as these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that generate any mana color. Additionally, a useful enchantment creature lets you play another terrain every round AND transforms all of your lands into every basic land type. It's also worth trying such as this six-mana enchantment, at a six-mana investment gives each permanent you control the ability to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers any creature under your control.
Badgermole Cub could be too strong when it comes to boosting mana production, yet what closes out the game with this archetype? An often-seen solution is Ashaya. Its power and toughness are both equal to how many lands you have, and it changes each creature you own Forests as well as their other types. In other words, all your creatures on your board is able to generate two green mana when tapped.
Harmonious Grovestrider is a costly, large threat that benefits from lots of lands (like Ashaya, P/T match how many lands you have).
Nissa, Who Shakes the World is an excellent fit as a go-to Planeswalker. One of her abilities causes all Forests tap for one more G. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means all earthbend forests yield three G.) One loyalty ability is essentially a proto-earthbend, adding counters to a noncreature land, a useful effect though it doesn't stack with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, though, grants your entire land base indestructible and allows you to put onto the battlefield all the remaining forests in the deck. If you can actually activate the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.
The cub is pretty much essential in any green-based Avatar strategies that use earthbend. By including red and green, you can use this legendary card. He has level 4 earthbending, and when damage is dealt to an opponent, land creatures are ready again and may attack once more. While that version has emerged as a beloved leader, the cub is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the desired card from this expansion.
Elara is a seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for slot mechanics and player strategies.
