🔗 Share this article

A significant aspect of the charm within the *Final Fantasy* crossover release for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the way countless cards narrate well-known stories. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a snapshot of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose key technique is a fancy shot that takes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules mirror this perfectly. These kinds of flavor is prevalent throughout the entire Final Fantasy set, and not all joyful stories. Several are heartbreaking callbacks of tragedies fans remember vividly years after.

"Moving stories are a central component of the Final Fantasy series," explained a lead designer for the collaboration. "The team established some overarching principles, but finally, it was mostly on a individual level."

Even though the Zack Fair card is not a top-tier card, it is one of the set's most clever instances of narrative design through gameplay. It skillfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial cinematic moments with great effect, all while utilizing some of the set's central systems. And although it avoids revealing anything, those who know the tale will immediately grasp the emotional weight embedded in it.

The Card's Design: A Narrative in Play

For one mana of white (the color of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair is a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 token. By paying one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to grant another unit you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s counters, as well as an Equipment, onto that chosen creature.

These mechanics depicts a sequence FF fans are all too remember, a moment that has been retold multiple times — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined versions in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it hits with equal force here, expressed solely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Scene

For backstory, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a battle with Sephiroth. Following years of testing, the friends get away. The entire time, 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 troops. Presumed dead, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the role of a first-class SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Legacy on the Game Board

On the tabletop, the rules effectively let you recreate this iconic scene. The Buster Sword is featured as a powerful piece of armament in the collection that requires three mana and gives the wielding creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a respectable 4/6 with the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has intentional combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to search your deck for an weapon card. In combination, these pieces function as follows: You summon Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Due to the manner Zack’s sacrifice ability is worded, you can actually use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an assault and activate it to cancel out the damage completely. Therefore, you can 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, each time he does damage a player, lets you gain card advantage and cast two cards without paying their mana cost. This is exactly the kind of moment meant when discussing “flavorful design” — not explaining the scene, but letting the mechanics evoke the memory.

More Than the Main Interaction

However, the flavor here is oh-so-delicious, and it goes beyond just this combo. The Jenova card appears in the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which also becomes a Mutant. This kind of suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. It's a small nod, but one that cleverly connects the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the set.

Zack’s card avoids showing his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the rain-soaked bluff where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* lets you recreate the moment yourself. You choose the ultimate play. You pass the sword on. And for a short instant, while engaged in a card battle, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.