🔗 Share this article

A significant part of the allure found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond set for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the manner numerous cards depict familiar narratives. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which gives a portrait of the hero at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose key technique is a unique shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules reflect this in nuanced ways. This type of storytelling is found in the whole Final Fantasy set, and they aren't all joyful stories. Several serve as heartbreaking callbacks of tragedies fans remember vividly to this day.

"Moving tales are a vital element of the Final Fantasy franchise," explained a principal designer for the collaboration. "The team established some broad guidelines, but finally, it was largely on a individual level."

Even though the Zack Fair card isn't a tournament staple, it stands as one of the release's most clever pieces of storytelling via rules. It masterfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important story moments with great effect, all while leveraging some of the set's core systems. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those acquainted with the tale will instantly understand the emotional weight behind it.

The Card's Design: Story Through Gameplay

At a cost of one mana of white (the alignment of good) in this set, Zack Fair enters with a starting stat line of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 counter. By paying one generic mana, you can remove from play the card to bestow another creature you control protection from destruction and move all of Zack’s counters, plus an gear, onto that other creature.

This design depicts a scene FF fans are very familiar with, a moment that has been reimagined again and again — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands powerfully here, expressed solely through rules text. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Scene

A bit of history, and take this as your *FF7* warning: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a confrontation with Sephiroth. After years of imprisonment, the pair get away. Throughout this period, Cloud is comatose, but Zack vows to take care of his friend. They finally make it the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by troops. Presumed dead, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the identity of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Moment on the Tabletop

Through gameplay, the abilities effectively let you relive this whole sequence. The Buster Sword is a a top-tier piece of gear in the collection that costs three mana and grants the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a formidable 4/6 with 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 function as follows: You cast Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Due to the design Zack’s signature action is worded, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and trigger it to cancel out the attack entirely. This allows you to perform this action at any time, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a powerful 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and play two spells at no cost. This is just the kind of interaction meant when talking about “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.

Beyond the Main Interaction

However, the flavor here is oh-so-delicious, and it reaches further than just these cards. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of 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 sort of suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. It's a subtle reference, but one that cleverly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the expansion.

Zack’s card does not depict his end, or Cloud’s confusion, or the stormy location where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* enables you to reenact the legacy for yourself. You make the ultimate play. You pass the legacy on. And for a fleeting moment, while engaged in a trading card game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the series to date.