A standout among Avatar's top episodes receives a dedicated Magic: The Gathering special card drop.
Usually, summary installments face criticism from viewers as an unnecessary diversion, or sometimes accepted as essential for series in the era of regular broadcasts. This wasn't always true, but Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrated this through "The Ember Island Players," a popular segment in its last season which is now granted a dedicated Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drop.
Information regarding the collector's edition
The full Secret Lair superdrop for the soon-to-release Avatar: The Last Airbender collection was announced recently. It features five separate collections, and although one titled "My Cabbages!" is certainly funny homage to the series' beloved recurring figure, the remaining sets seem somewhat less imaginative, aside from one remarkable entry: "The Ember Island Players."
Inspired by installment 17 in the final season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this collector's drop contains these specific cards:
- 1x Phantasmal Image portrayed as "Absolutely Accurate Actor"
- 1x Braid of Fire
- 1x Cursed Mirror
- 1x Mask of Memory
- 1x Thespian's Stage
What makes this installment stands out
Fans of the show fondly remember this particular episode, which acted as a recap of Aang and his companions' quest before the series' finale. Different from typical clip shows, or "clip shows," "The Ember Island Players" wasn't motivated from financial limitations or production issues. The show's makers specifically aimed to provide audiences a chance to revisit the series' story, however, they opted to do it creatively.
Throughout the segment, the main characters watches a stage show based on their adventures on a stage set on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The whole thing is inaccurate, melodramatic, and completely amusing. It succeeds as it plays with the characters' perception regarding their own identities, contrasting them against how the world (and especially the Fire Nation citizens) perceives them. It has the perfect balance of meta-commentary, and it ends up arguably the top rendition of the series available to date.
Worth and availability
Regarding worth, this is a great Secret Lair due to one key factor: Braid of Fire. This specific card sells between $20 and $40 through card retailers currently, while for $29.99 you can snag the complete collection, or alternatively $39.99 for the shiny edition.
Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender collection will be available for advance previews beginning November 14 and launches globally on Nov. 21.