One of Avatar: The Last Airbender's best episodes receives an exclusive MTG collector's set.
Usually, recap episodes are disliked among audiences as a pointless diversion, or at best viewed as a requirement for series in the age of weekly production. That wasn't always the situation, but Avatar: The Last Airbender showed it with "The Ember Island Players," a cherished segment during its concluding run now being granted a special Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drop.
Information regarding the collector's edition
The complete Secret Lair superdrop for the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender edition was announced earlier this month. Containing five separate collections, and even though one titled "My Cabbages!" is clearly amusing nod to Avatar's best background character, the other collections seem somewhat lacking creativity, except for one standout: "The Ember Island Players."
Inspired by the seventeenth episode from season 3 of the beloved series, this Secret Lair 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 segment is special
Audiences of the series warmly cherish this episode, which functioned as a review of the protagonist Aang and the group's journey prior to the final episode. Different from typical clip shows, or retrospective segments, "The Ember Island Players" did not stem by budget restrictions or production issues. The creators truly wanted to provide audiences a moment to recap the show's narrative, yet they chose to execute it with flair.
In the episode, the heroes watches a play based on their exploits in a theater located on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The whole thing is inaccurate, melodramatic, and completely amusing. It excels because it plays with the heroes' understanding of themselves, contrasting them compared to how society (and notably the antagonist nation) views them. It has an ideal level of introspective humor, and it results in perhaps the best adaptation of Avatar released so far.
Value and availability
In terms of value, this offers a fantastic Secret Lair because of one major element: Braid of Fire. This particular card trades for $20 and $40 on online marketplaces at the time of writing, while for $29.99 you can obtain the entire Secret Lair, or alternatively $39.99 for the premium foil treatment.
Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender edition can be accessed for pre-release events on Nov. 14 and releases worldwide on November 21.