A standout among Avatar: The Last Airbender's best episodes gets its own Magic: The Gathering collector's set.
Ordinarily, recap episodes face criticism by fans as a pointless time filler, or at best tolerated as a requirement for shows during the period of weekly production. This wasn't always the situation, but Avatar: The Last Airbender showed it with "The Ember Island Players," a popular installment from its final season which is now receiving a special Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drop.
Information regarding the Secret Lair
The full Secret Lair superdrop for the soon-to-release Avatar: The Last Airbender edition was announced earlier this month. Containing five separate collections, and although a set named "My Cabbages!" is clearly humorous tribute to Avatar's beloved recurring figure, the remaining sets appear slightly less imaginative, aside from one remarkable entry: "The Ember Island Players."
Drawing from installment 17 from season 3 of the animated show, this Secret Lair includes 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
Why this installment is special
Audiences of the series warmly cherish this installment, which functioned as a summary of Aang and his friends' quest prior to the final episode. In contrast to other recap episodes, or "clip shows," "The Ember Island Players" did not stem from financial limitations or creative challenges. The creators truly wanted to give fans a chance to recap the series' story, but they decided to approach it inventively.
Throughout the segment, the main characters watches a stage show depicting their exploits at a playhouse set on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The whole thing is wildly exaggerated, cheesy, and completely amusing. It succeeds because it plays on the characters' views about themselves, contrasting them against how the world (and especially the Fire Nation) sees them. It possesses the right amount of self-awareness, and it ends up possibly the finest interpretation of the series we have had.
Value and cost
Regarding worth, this offers a fantastic Secret Lair for one simple reason: Braid of Fire. This specific card trades for $20 and $40 on online marketplaces currently, while for $29.99 you can snag the complete collection, or alternatively $39.99 for the foil version.
Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender collection is available during early access events starting November 14 and debuts internationally on November 21.
