One of the Avatar-themed most adorable MTG cards is a nasty small force.
the popular card game’s Avatar crossover set won’t become widely available before the end of the week, however due to early access events this past weekend, an affordable green creature experienced a surge in value.
Even during previews, Badgermole Cub drew significant interest. This two-power, two-toughness requiring one green and one colorless mana, Badgermole Cub features Earthbending 1 (possibly the best within the set’s four “bending” mechanics). The major perk here lies in an additional effect: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.
Initially, Badgermole Cub could be purchased for $26.98. Following the early events, yet, the going rate escalated above $45 including listings as high as $60. The reason for Vivi prices for this cute lil guy? Mainly due to the rapid resource generation it can produce.
As it hits play, this creature turns a land to a creature land granting it earthbend. Combined with its other power, while it remains on the board, every earthbent land yields two mana instead of one — plus any creatures you have that generate mana.
The obvious go-to for maximum effect is the classic Llanowar Elves, a low-cost creature which can be tapped for one green mana. But there are plenty of other mana generation creatures out there. This particular druid is a higher-cost choice a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value instead.
Using land cards, mana-producing creatures, alongside this card, it's simple to summon a very big pricey creature on the board within a few turns. Momentum builds out of control by maintaining dominance from that point.
If you dip into a secondary color using this method, options such as Fuel Tank Feaster, Ilysian Caryatid, and Paradise Druid work perfectly which produce all five colors. Additionally, this powerful dryad enables playing one extra land per turn plus makes every land you control so they count as all basics. It's also worth trying something like the enchantment A Realm Reborn, costing six mana gives all of your permanents the power to be tapped for one mana of any color — including all creatures under your control.
Badgermole Cub may be OP regarding ramping up your mana generation, but what’s the endgame finisher in such a strategy? One obvious and popular answer already is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Its power and toughness match your land count, and it changes each creature you own into Forests along with their other types. In other words, each creature on your board can produce double green by tapping.
Harmonious Grovestrider is another expensive, beefy creature that benefits from many terrain cards (like Ashaya, P/T match your land total).
Nissa, Who Shakes the World fits really well in this deck. One of her abilities causes all Forests produce extra green. (With a Badgermole Cub, that means all earthbend forests produce triple green.) One loyalty ability functions like a proto-earthbend, putting +1/+1 counters on a land, a useful effect but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, though, makes all of your lands indestructible and allows you to search for every Forest left from your library. Once you trigger the ultimate, it’s pretty much you win.
The cub is a must-have for any kind of green Avatar deck built around earthbend. When branching into red and green, there’s Bumi Unleashed. He has level 4 earthbending, and if he deals combat damage in combat, all land creatures are ready again for another attack. Although this card is a popular Commander choice, this small creature will surely stay one of the most, maybe the sought-after card from this expansion.