Zack Fair Demonstrates That Magic's Crossover Sets Can Tell Powerful Stories.

A significant aspect of the allure of the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond set for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the way countless cards depict familiar stories. Consider the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which gives a glimpse of the hero at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose secret weapon is a specialized shot that knocks a defender aside. The gameplay rules reflect this in nuanced ways. These kinds of narrative is prevalent across the whole Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all joyful stories. Several are poignant echoes of sad moments fans continue to reflect on to this day.

"Emotional tales are a central element of the Final Fantasy legacy," noted a lead designer on the project. "We built some overarching principles, but ultimately, it was largely on a card-by-card level."

Even though the Zack Fair may not be a tournament staple, it represents one of the collection's most elegant instances of storytelling by way of rules. It masterfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal cinematic moments with great effect, all while utilizing some of the set's central gameplay elements. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those familiar with the story will quickly recognize the significance within it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

For one white mana (the alignment of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair enters with a base stat line of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 counter. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can remove from play the card to bestow another ally you control indestructible and put all of Zack’s bonuses, as well as an artifact weapon, onto that other creature.

This card depicts a scene FF fans are extremely know well, a moment that has been retold again and again — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined iterations in *FF7 Remake*. But somehow it lands with equal force here, expressed solely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Scene

A bit of backstory, and take this as your *FF7* warning: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a battle with Sephiroth. After years of testing, the pair get away. Throughout this period, Cloud is comatose, but Zack ensures to protect his comrade. They finally arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is killed by troops. Abandoned, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the role of a first-class SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Legacy on the Game Board

Through gameplay, the abilities in essence let you reenact this iconic scene. The Buster Sword appears as a strong piece of armament in the set that costs three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can turn Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has deliberate combo potential with the Buster Sword, allowing you to find for an equipment card. Together, these three cards function as follows: You summon Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Due to the design Zack’s key mechanic is worded, you can technically use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “block” an assault and activate it to negate the damage completely. So you can make this play at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a strong 6/4 that, each time he deals combat damage a player, lets you gain card advantage and play two cards for free. This is just the kind of experience meant when discussing “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Obvious Combo

And the flavor here is incredibly rich, and it goes further than just these cards. The Jenova card appears in the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which then becomes a Mutant. This kind of suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER enhancement he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle reference, but one that implicitly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the set.

Zack’s card does not depict his death, or Cloud’s trauma, or the memorable bluff where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* allows you to reenact the legacy for yourself. You make the sacrifice. You hand over the legacy on. And for a brief second, while enjoying a strategy game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most beloved game in the saga for many fans.