🔗 Share this article

A significant part of the appeal within the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the manner so many cards depict iconic tales. Consider Tidus, Blitzball Star, which provides a snapshot of the character at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose key technique is a fancy shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The card's mechanics represent this in nuanced ways. These kinds of narrative is prevalent across the entire Final Fantasy set, and they aren't all fun and games. A number serve as heartbreaking reminders of tragedies fans still mull over to this day.

"Powerful tales are a vital component of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a senior game designer on the project. "The team established some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a individual basis."

While the Zack Fair card may not be a tournament staple, it stands as one of the collection's most refined pieces of storytelling through rules. It skillfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal story moments in spectacular fashion, all while capitalizing on some of the expansion's core mechanics. And even if it avoids revealing anything, those who know the tale will instantly understand the meaning behind it.

The Mechanics: A Narrative in Play

At a cost of one white mana (the color of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair is a base power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 token. By paying one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to give another unit you control protection from destruction and transfer all of Zack’s markers, as well as an artifact weapon, onto that chosen creature.

These mechanics depicts a sequence FF fans are all too know well, a moment that has been revisited again and again — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined iterations in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it lands with equal force here, communicated entirely through card abilities. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Moment

For context, and consider this your *FF7* spoiler alert: Before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following extended experimentation, the friends get away. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack makes sure to take care of his comrade. They eventually reach the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by forces. Abandoned, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the persona of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Moment on the Game Board

In a game, the rules in essence let you reenact this iconic sequence. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of gear in the collection that requires three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a solid 4/6 with the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, allowing you to search your deck for an equipment card. In combination, these three cards unfold like this: You summon Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to pull the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Owing to the design Zack’s signature action is designed, you can actually use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to negate the damage entirely. Therefore, you can do this at any time, passing 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 play two cards without paying their mana cost. This is precisely the kind of interaction referred to when discussing “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the gameplay evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Obvious Synergy

But the narrative here is oh-so-delicious, and it goes past just this combo. The Jenova card appears in the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which then becomes a Mutant. This in a way hints that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a small reference, but one that implicitly connects the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

Zack’s card avoids showing his death, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the rain-soaked bluff where it concludes. It isn't necessary. *Magic* allows you to relive the legacy yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You transfer the legacy on. And for a brief second, while engaged in a trading card game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most impactful game in the saga for many fans.