There are sad moments Avatar: The Last AirbenderThere is also a touching scene with Iroh in the second season of The Tale of Ba Sing Se. Although the animated series targets children as its target audience, it never talks down to them. Almost two full seasons of Prince Zuko Uncle Iroh was portrayed as a kind and wise foolish old man, and the series only occasionally hints at his deep past and power.
Now one of the most expensive cards in Magic: Gathering Avatar crossover evokes a heartbreaking moment from Iroh's story. Even more heartbreaking: this card can no longer be obtained unless you buy it from someone. Womp, womp.
In Iroh's episode from The Tales of Ba Sing Se, he wanders the streets of the Earth Kingdom capital, preparing for a picnic and quietly helping the townspeople. He soothes the crying child, shows kindness and offers the robber tea, and eventually settles down at the foot of a large tree at sunset. There he sets up a small shrine and wishes his son a happy birthday. “If only I could help you,” he says tearfully, before singing a mournful song about the “little boy soldier.” Iroh's son died in the war, which changes the context of how we perceive his character, especially when it comes to his relationship with his nephew, Prince Zuko.
Iroh's superior Grand Lotus received a BoxLunch-only promo card with alternate art. It was given away with any in-store purchase of $50 or more on November 21, the day the set was released widely. The Grand Lotus version of Iroh demonstrates who he is at the end of the series: after spending several months in prison, becoming a super-amateur, he broke out to lead the White Lotus army in the liberation of Ba Sing Se. The base version of the card depicts Iroh engulfed in flames at the head of an army. Instead of this impressive image, the BoxLunch variant instead shows Iroh – still in his White Lotus costume – sitting down on a picnic, smiling towards the sunset with a pot of tea in the foreground.
To be clear, Iroh, Grand Lotus does just that. No picture this heartbreaking moment from season two, but it's definitely causes This. He is classic Uncle Iroh, a humble, sweet and thoughtful man who loves the simple pleasures of life. Aside from the four borderless neon ink foil cards for Zuko, Aang, Toph, and Katara, the BoxLunch Iroh variant is currently the most expensive card in the set. Forward TCGPlayerthe only listings are above $80. On eBay, prices are all over the place, with more than two dozen listings ranging from $25 to $200.
It's even more expensive than the treasured one Baby badger mole. The base card currently costs around $54, and the borderless card costs around $72.
It helps that Iroh, the Grand Lotus, is one of the best commanders in the set and is just a great card all around. Not only does he have Fire Magic 2, generating two red mana every time he attacks, but during your turn, normal instants and sorcery cards have flashback so you can cast them for their normal mana cost. It also gives each Lesson card in your graveyard a flashback cost of one colorless mana. Lesson, a subtype of instants and sorceries reintroduced in this set, is typically not that expensive. But this means you can do whatever you want for very little money during your turn when Iroh is on the board.
For a character defined by humility and quiet wisdom, it seems fitting that one of the rarest Avatar cards is not a display of overwhelming power, but a quiet moment of peace. Uncle Iroh doesn't need the brightest card in the set, just one that will remember him as truly as he remembers his son.
