One of Avatar: The Last Airbender's top installments gets a dedicated Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair.

Typically, summary installments are loathed among audiences as a pointless time filler, or perhaps tolerated as a necessity for shows in the era of episodic releases. This wasn't always true, and Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrated this through "The Ember Island Players," a beloved segment from its final season that is now getting an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drop.

Details about the collector's edition

The entire Secret Lair superdrop for the soon-to-release Avatar: The Last Airbender collection was unveiled recently. Containing five separate collections, and even though a set named "My Cabbages!" is an admittedly humorous tribute to the show's most famous minor character, the other collections appear slightly less imaginative, with one notable exception: "The Ember Island Players."

Inspired by installment 17 from season 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this Secret Lair features these specific cards:

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

Why this installment is special

Viewers of the series fondly remember this episode, which functioned as a summary of the protagonist Aang and his friends' quest before the series' finale. Different from other recap episodes, or "clip shows," "The Ember Island Players" was not driven from financial limitations or scheduling problems. The show's makers specifically aimed to offer viewers an opportunity to reflect on the overall plot, however, they opted to execute it with flair.

Throughout the segment, the crew watches a stage show inspired by their adventures in a theater located on Ember Island, named The Boy in the Iceberg. The play itself is inaccurate, over-the-top, and completely amusing. It excels because it plays with the heroes' understanding about themselves, juxtaposing them compared to how society (and particularly the antagonist nation) views them. It contains an ideal level of self-awareness, and it results in arguably the finest interpretation of Avatar released so far.

Appeal and pricing

In terms of value, this represents an excellent Secret Lair due to one key factor: Braid of Fire. This particular card is valued between $20 and $40 on online marketplaces as of now, and at $29.99 you can snag the entire Secret Lair, or $39.99 for the foil version.

Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender edition can be accessed for pre-release events beginning November 14 and launches globally on November 21.