One of Avatar's best installments is honored with a dedicated MTG Secret Lair.
Ordinarily, summary installments face criticism among audiences as a pointless diversion, or sometimes tolerated as a requirement in television in the age of regular broadcasts. However, this wasn't true, but Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrated this via "The Ember Island Players," a beloved episode from its final season now being getting a special Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair release.
Information regarding the special release
The entire Secret Lair superdrop for the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender collection was revealed recently. It features five distinct sets, and while one titled "My Cabbages!" is clearly humorous tribute to the series' best background character, the additional releases appear slightly lacking creativity, with one notable exception: "The Ember Island Players."
Drawing from installment 17 of the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this Secret Lair features 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 the show fondly remember this particular episode, which acted as a summary of the hero Aang and his friends' quest prior to the final episode. In contrast to standard summary installments, or retrospective segments, "The Ember Island Players" wasn't motivated from financial limitations or scheduling problems. The show's makers truly wanted to give fans a chance to recap the show's narrative, yet they chose to do it creatively.
Throughout the segment, the heroes watches a theatrical performance inspired by their journeys on a stage set on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The whole thing is inaccurate, over-the-top, and utterly comical. It works as it plays with the characters' perception of themselves, contrasting them compared to how society (and notably the Fire Nation) sees them. It has the right amount of meta-commentary, and it ends up possibly the top rendition of the show we have had.
Value and availability
In terms of value, this offers a fantastic Secret Lair due to one key factor: 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 acquire the full set, or for $39.99 for the shiny edition.
Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender set can be accessed for pre-release events beginning November 14 and launches globally on November 21.
