One of Avatar's top episodes receives an exclusive Magic: The Gathering collector's set.

Usually, summary installments face criticism from viewers as a pointless time filler, or sometimes tolerated as a necessity in television in the era of regular broadcasts. However, this wasn't true, but Avatar: The Last Airbender proved it with "The Ember Island Players," a cherished segment from its final season which is now receiving a special Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drop.

Highlights of the collector's edition

The full Secret Lair superdrop for the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set was unveiled earlier this month. It features five Secret Lairs, and even though the one called "My Cabbages!" is an admittedly amusing nod to Avatar's best background character, the other collections appear slightly uninspired, except for one standout: "The Ember Island Players."

Inspired by episode 17 of the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this collector's drop contains 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

The reason this segment is special

Audiences of Avatar clearly recall this particular episode, which served as a summary of the hero Aang and his friends' adventure before the series' finale. In contrast to other recap episodes, or "clip shows," "The Ember Island Players" did not stem due to production constraints or scheduling problems. The show's makers specifically aimed to provide audiences an opportunity to revisit the show's narrative, but they decided to approach it inventively.

During the installment, the main characters view a play inspired by their exploits in a theater located on Ember Island, named The Boy in the Iceberg. The play itself is factually incorrect, cheesy, and utterly comical. It works since it plays with the heroes' understanding of themselves, setting them against with how the world (and especially the Fire Nation citizens) sees them. It possesses an ideal level of introspective humor, and it ends up perhaps the finest interpretation of the series available to date.

Worth and availability

Regarding worth, this is a great Secret Lair because of one major element: Braid of Fire. This particular card sells between $20 and $40 on online marketplaces at the time of writing, while for $29.99 you can snag the entire Secret Lair, or $39.99 for the shiny edition.

Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender set will be available during early access events beginning November 14 and releases worldwide come November 21.