Among Avatar: The Last Airbender's most beloved episodes is honored with its own MTG Secret Lair.
Usually, summary installments are loathed among audiences as a needless waste of time, or at best accepted as essential for series in the era of episodic releases. That wasn't always the case, and Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrated this via "The Ember Island Players," a popular installment from its final season that is now granted an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drop.
Information regarding the collector's edition
The entire Secret Lair superdrop for the soon-to-release Avatar: The Last Airbender edition was unveiled earlier this month. This includes five Secret Lairs, and even though one titled "My Cabbages!" is an admittedly funny homage to the show's beloved recurring figure, the remaining sets feel a bit less imaginative, aside from one remarkable entry: "The Ember Island Players."
Drawing from installment 17 of the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this collector's drop includes these particular cards:
- 1x Phantasmal Image as "Absolutely Accurate Actor"
- 1x Braid of Fire
- 1x Cursed Mirror
- 1x Mask of Memory
- 1x Thespian's Stage
The reason this episode is special
Viewers of the show fondly remember this installment, which acted as a recap of the protagonist Aang and his companions' adventure prior to the final episode. In contrast to other recap episodes, or retrospective segments, "The Ember Island Players" did not stem from financial limitations or production issues. The creators genuinely intended to provide audiences a chance to recap the show's narrative, but they decided to approach it inventively.
In the episode, the main characters view a theatrical performance based on their exploits on a stage set on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The play itself is factually incorrect, melodramatic, and completely amusing. It excels as it plays with the characters' perception regarding their own identities, setting them against against how the world (and especially the Fire Nation) perceives them. It possesses the perfect balance of meta-commentary, and it results in arguably the finest interpretation of Avatar we have had.
Worth and cost
In terms of value, this offers a fantastic Secret Lair because of one major element: Braid of Fire. This specific card trades for $20 and $40 on online marketplaces at the time of writing, and for $29.99 you can obtain the full set, or for $39.99 for the premium foil treatment.
Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender set will be available for pre-release events starting November 14 and launches globally on Nov. 21.
