One of Avatar: The Last Airbender's best installments gets a dedicated MTG special card drop.

Usually, clip shows are loathed from viewers as an unnecessary waste of time, or sometimes accepted as essential in television in the age of weekly production. This wasn't always true, and Avatar: The Last Airbender proved it through "The Ember Island Players," a popular episode from its final season now being receiving an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair release.

Highlights about the collector's edition

The entire Secret Lair superdrop for the soon-to-release Avatar: The Last Airbender edition was revealed recently. Containing five separate collections, and even though the one called "My Cabbages!" is clearly amusing nod to the series' best background character, the remaining sets appear slightly lacking creativity, except for one standout: "The Ember Island Players."

Drawing from installment 17 from season 3 of the animated show, this special set contains the following cards:

  • 1x Phantasmal Image portrayed as "Absolutely Accurate Actor"
  • 1x Braid of Fire
  • 1x Cursed Mirror
  • 1x Mask of Memory
  • 1x Thespian's Stage

The reason this episode remains memorable

Audiences of Avatar clearly recall this episode, which served as a review of the hero Aang and the group's quest prior to the final episode. In contrast to other recap episodes, or retrospective segments, "The Ember Island Players" was not driven due to production constraints or production issues. The creators genuinely intended to provide audiences an opportunity to revisit the series' story, however, they opted to do it creatively.

Throughout the segment, the heroes view a stage show depicting their journeys in a theater set on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The play itself is wildly exaggerated, melodramatic, and overall hilarious. It succeeds as it plays with the heroes' understanding of themselves, juxtaposing them against how the world (and notably the Fire Nation citizens) perceives them. It contains the perfect balance of meta-commentary, and it becomes possibly the best adaptation of Avatar we have had.

Appeal and cost

When it comes to cost-effectiveness, this is a great Secret Lair for one simple reason: Braid of Fire. This particular card trades for $20 and $40 on online marketplaces as of now, and for $29.99 you can snag the entire Secret Lair, or $39.99 for the foil version.

Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender collection will be available during early access events beginning November 14 and launches globally on November 21.

Stephen Brady
Stephen Brady

A passionate writer and storyteller with a love for exploring human experiences through prose and poetry.