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A significant part of the charm within the *Final Fantasy* crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the way numerous cards narrate well-known narratives. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which gives a portrait of the protagonist at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose secret weapon is a fancy shot that takes a defender out of the way. The card's mechanics represent this with subtlety. This type of narrative is widespread throughout the entire Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all lighthearted tales. Some serve as somber reminders of tragedies fans still mull over years after.

"Powerful tales are a vital part of the Final Fantasy legacy," explained a senior designer involved with the collaboration. "We built some general rules, but ultimately, it was mostly on a card-by-card level."

While the Zack Fair isn't a tournament staple, it represents one of the release's most elegant pieces of flavor through gameplay. It masterfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial story moments with great effect, all while utilizing some of the product's core mechanics. And although it steers clear of spoiling anything, those acquainted with the saga will immediately grasp the significance within it.

How It Works: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the color of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair is a base power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 marker. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to grant another ally you control indestructible and move all of Zack’s bonuses, as well as an gear, onto that chosen creature.

This design paints a scene FF fans are extremely familiar with, a moment that has been retold again and again — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. But somehow it hits just as hard here, expressed completely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

For history, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Prior to the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following years of imprisonment, the duo manage to escape. Throughout this period, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack makes sure to take care of his friend. They eventually reach the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Presumed dead, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the identity of a elite SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Moment on the Tabletop

Through gameplay, the card mechanics effectively let you recreate this whole sequence. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of armament in the set that costs three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can transform Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud Strife card also has intentional synergy with the Buster Sword, letting you to look through your library for an artifact card. Together, these pieces function in this way: You cast Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Owing to the way Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can potentially use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to prevent the damage altogether. This allows you to make this play at any time, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a powerful 6/4 that, every time he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two spells at no cost. This is exactly the kind of experience referred to when talking about “flavorful design” — not revealing the scene, but letting the mechanics make you remember.

Beyond the Central Synergy

However, the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it goes past just this combo. The Jenova card 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 also becomes a Mutant. This sort of suggests that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER conditioning he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle reference, but one that implicitly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

The card does not depict his death, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the stormy location where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* allows you to relive the passing yourself. You choose the ultimate play. You transfer the sword on. And for a short instant, while playing a trading card game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the saga for many fans.