🔗 Share this article

A significant element of the charm found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the manner countless cards depict well-known tales. Take for instance Tidus, Blitzball Star, which gives a portrait of the protagonist at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a renowned professional athlete whose signature move is a fancy shot that pushes a defender aside. The gameplay rules reflect this perfectly. Such narrative is widespread in the entire Final Fantasy offering, and not all joyful stories. Several serve as somber reminders of emotional events fans remember vividly to this day.

"Emotional narratives are a vital element of the Final Fantasy legacy," noted a senior designer for the collaboration. "They created some broad guidelines, but finally, it was mostly on a individual basis."

Though the Zack Fair card isn't a tournament staple, it stands as one of the collection's most refined pieces of flavor through gameplay. It skillfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial dramatic moments with great effect, all while leveraging some of the expansion's key mechanics. And while it steers clear of spoiling anything, those who know the tale will instantly understand the significance within it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the color of good) in this set, Zack Fair has a starting stat line of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 token. For the cost of one generic mana, you can remove from play the card to bestow another creature you control indestructible and move all of Zack’s counters, plus an artifact weapon, onto that chosen creature.

This card paints a sequence FF fans are extremely know well, a moment that has been retold multiple times — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. But somehow it hits just as hard here, conveyed completely through card abilities. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

Some necessary backstory, and here is your *FF7* warning: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following years of experimentation, the pair break free. During their ordeal, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack makes sure to look after his companion. They finally make it the edge outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the persona of a elite SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Legacy on the Battlefield

In a game, the rules effectively let you recreate this iconic scene. The Buster Sword is a a top-tier piece of armament in the set that requires three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can make Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has intentional combo potential with the Buster Sword, allowing you to look through your library for an equipment card. When used in tandem, these three cards function in this way: You cast Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Because of the design Zack’s key mechanic is designed, you can actually use it when blocking, meaning you can “block” an attack and trigger it to cancel out the damage altogether. So you can do this at a key moment, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a powerful 6/4 that, each time he deals combat damage a player, lets you gain card advantage and cast two spells at no cost. This is just the kind of interaction referred to when talking about “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

More Than the Obvious Synergy

And the thematic here is incredibly rich, and it reaches past just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity appears in the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This kind of suggests that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. It's a tiny connection, but one that cleverly links the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

This design avoids showing his death, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy bluff where it happens. It doesn't have to. *Magic* lets you reenact the legacy yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You transfer the weapon on. And for a short instant, while playing a trading card game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the saga to date.