A standout among Avatar: The Last Airbender's most beloved installments is honored with a dedicated Magic: The Gathering special card drop.

Typically, summary installments are disliked among audiences as a pointless diversion, or perhaps accepted as a requirement for series in the age of weekly production. This wasn't always the situation, and Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrated this with "The Ember Island Players," a popular segment during its concluding run now being granted an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair collection.

Information of the Secret Lair

The full Secret Lair superdrop for the soon-to-release Avatar: The Last Airbender edition was announced on November 4. Containing five Secret Lairs, and even though the one called "My Cabbages!" is an admittedly humorous tribute to the show's best background character, the remaining sets appear slightly uninspired, aside from one remarkable entry: "The Ember Island Players."

Based on installment 17 of the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this special set features these particular cards:

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

Why this episode is special

Viewers of Avatar fondly remember this installment, which acted as a review of the protagonist Aang and the group's quest before the series' finale. In contrast to typical clip shows, or compilation episodes, "The Ember Island Players" was not driven by budget restrictions or scheduling problems. The creators genuinely intended to give fans an opportunity to revisit the series' story, however, they opted to approach it inventively.

In the episode, the crew observe a play inspired by their adventures on a stage located on Ember Island, titled The Boy in the Iceberg. The play itself is wildly exaggerated, cheesy, and completely amusing. It works because it plays with the heroes' understanding regarding their own identities, contrasting them compared to how society (and especially the Fire Nation citizens) sees them. It possesses the right amount of self-awareness, and it ends up perhaps the finest interpretation of the series released so far.

Value and pricing

Regarding worth, this represents an excellent Secret Lair due to one key factor: Braid of Fire. This specific card trades for $20 and $40 on online marketplaces at the time of writing, and at $29.99 you can acquire the full set, or alternatively $39.99 for the shiny edition.

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