Zack Fair Demonstrates How Magic: The Gathering's Crossover Sets Are Capable of Telling Emotional Narratives.

A core element of the charm found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the fashion so many cards depict well-known tales. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a portrait of the character at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous sports star whose key technique is a specialized shot that knocks a defender aside. The card's mechanics mirror this with subtlety. This type of flavor is found throughout the whole Final Fantasy offering, and some are not fun and games. Some are poignant echoes of sad moments fans continue to reflect on to this day.

"Moving stories are a key component of the Final Fantasy legacy," wrote a lead game designer on the set. "We built some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a card-by-card basis."

Though the Zack Fair isn't a competitive powerhouse, it stands as one of the release's most elegant instances of flavor through gameplay. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial cinematic moments with great effect, all while utilizing some of the set's key systems. And even if it avoids revealing anything, those who know the story will quickly recognize the meaning within it.

How It Works: A Narrative in Play

At a cost of one white mana (the hue of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair enters with a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 token. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to bestow another creature you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s bonuses, plus an artifact weapon, onto that chosen creature.

This card paints a scene FF fans are very remember, a moment that has been revisited throughout the years — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it lands just as hard here, communicated solely through gameplay mechanics. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Card

A bit of history, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following years of experimentation, the duo get away. During their ordeal, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack vows to take care of his comrade. They finally arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is killed by troops. Abandoned, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the persona of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Legacy on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the abilities essentially let you recreate this whole scene. The Buster Sword is featured as a powerful piece of equipment in the collection that requires three mana and gives the equipped creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can transform Zack into a respectable 4/6 while the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to find for an equipment card. In combination, these pieces unfold as follows: You cast Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Because of the design Zack’s signature action is worded, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an assault and activate it to negate the damage altogether. This allows you to make this play at a key moment, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a strong 6/4 that, each time he strikes a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two cards without paying their mana cost. This is precisely the kind of experience meant when discussing “narrative impact” — not explaining the scene, but letting the gameplay make you remember.

Beyond the Main Combo

And the flavor here is oh-so-delicious, and it goes further than just these cards. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of the set 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 hints that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. It's a tiny connection, but one that implicitly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the expansion.

Zack’s card does not depict his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the memorable cliff where it concludes. It isn't necessary. *Magic* allows you to recreate the legacy personally. You make the ultimate play. You pass the weapon on. And for a short instant, while enjoying a strategy game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the series ever made.