A standout among Avatar's most beloved episodes receives its own MTG Secret Lair.
Typically, recap episodes are disliked by fans as a needless time filler, or at best accepted as a requirement for shows in the age of episodic releases. That wasn't always the situation, and Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrated this via "The Ember Island Players," a popular episode during its concluding run now being getting an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair release.
Information of the special release
The complete Secret Lair superdrop for the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set was unveiled on November 4. Containing five separate collections, and while one titled "My Cabbages!" is certainly amusing nod to Avatar's best background character, the other collections appear slightly less imaginative, with one notable exception: "The Ember Island Players."
Inspired by the seventeenth episode of the third season of the beloved series, this Secret Lair includes these particular 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 episode is special
Fans of the series clearly recall this episode, which served as a review of the protagonist Aang and his friends' quest leading up to the conclusion. Unlike standard summary installments, or "clip shows," "The Ember Island Players" was not driven due to production constraints or creative challenges. The creators genuinely intended to offer viewers a chance to revisit the overall plot, yet they chose to do it creatively.
During the installment, the main characters watches a theatrical performance depicting their journeys on a stage set on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The play itself is inaccurate, cheesy, and completely amusing. It works as it plays with the heroes' understanding regarding their own identities, juxtaposing them compared to how society (and notably the antagonist nation) views them. It contains an ideal level of meta-commentary, and it results in perhaps the best adaptation of the series available to date.
Appeal and cost
When it comes to cost-effectiveness, this offers a fantastic Secret Lair for one simple reason: Braid of Fire. This card sells between $20 and $40 on various platforms at the time of writing, and at $29.99 you can snag the full set, or $39.99 for the premium foil treatment.
Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender edition is available for pre-release events beginning November 14 and releases worldwide on Nov. 21.
