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A significant aspect of the charm within the *Final Fantasy* crossover release for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the manner numerous cards tell well-known narratives. Take for instance Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a snapshot of the protagonist at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose secret weapon is a specialized shot that knocks a defender aside. The abilities mirror this perfectly. This type of flavor is found throughout the entire Final Fantasy offering, and some are not lighthearted tales. A number serve as poignant reminders of emotional events fans continue to reflect on to this day.

"Moving stories are a vital element of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a senior designer for the set. "They created some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a card-by-card level."

Even though the Zack Fair may not be a competitive powerhouse, it represents one of the collection's most elegant pieces of storytelling through rules. It masterfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial cinematic moments with great effect, all while leveraging some of the product's central mechanics. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those who know the saga will quickly recognize the significance embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay

At a cost of one mana of white (the alignment of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair has a base power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 marker. For the cost of one generic mana, you can sacrifice the card to bestow another unit you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s markers, as well as an artifact weapon, onto that target creature.

This card paints a sequence FF fans are all too know well, a moment that has been retold multiple times — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it resonates powerfully here, conveyed completely through card abilities. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Scene

For history, 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. After years of experimentation, the pair manage to escape. Throughout this period, Cloud is delirious, but Zack vows to take care of his comrade. They eventually arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by troops. Abandoned, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the identity of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Legacy on the Battlefield

In a game, the abilities in essence let you recreate this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of gear in the set that requires three mana and grants the equipped 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 deliberate combo potential with the Buster Sword, letting you to look through your library for an weapon card. Together, these pieces unfold like this: You summon Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Owing to the design Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can technically use it when blocking, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and trigger it to negate the damage completely. This allows you to do this at a key moment, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a strong 6/4 that, every time he strikes a player, lets you draw two cards and play two spells for free. This is precisely the kind of moment alluded to when discussing “emotional resonance” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the gameplay evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Obvious Combo

But the thematic here is incredibly rich, and it extends beyond just these cards. The Jenova card is part of the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This sort of suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. It's a small reference, but one that subtly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the expansion.

The card does not depict his end, or Cloud’s confusion, or the stormy cliff where it happens. It does not need to. *Magic* lets you recreate the passing yourself. You perform the ultimate play. You hand over the sword on. And for a brief second, while engaged in a trading card game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.