🔗 Share this article

A major part of the appeal found in the *Final Fantasy* crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the fashion countless cards tell well-known stories. Consider the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a glimpse of the hero at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated sports star whose secret weapon is a fancy shot that knocks a defender out of the way. The abilities reflect this with subtlety. This type of flavor is widespread in the whole Final Fantasy offering, and not all lighthearted tales. A number are poignant echoes of tragedies fans continue to reflect on decades later.

"Emotional tales are a vital element of the Final Fantasy franchise," noted a senior designer on the project. "They created some overarching principles, but finally, it was primarily on a card-by-card basis."

Though the Zack Fair isn't a competitive powerhouse, it is one of the release's most elegant instances of storytelling via rules. It skillfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important story moments in spectacular fashion, all while utilizing some of the expansion's central mechanics. And while it avoids revealing anything, those who know the saga will instantly understand the significance embedded in it.

How It Works: Flavor in Rules

For one mana of white (the hue of good) in this collection, Zack Fair has a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 counter. For the cost of one generic mana, you can remove from play the card to bestow another creature you control protection from destruction and transfer all of Zack’s bonuses, along with an artifact weapon, onto that chosen creature.

This card portrays a moment FF fans are extremely familiar with, a moment that has been retold throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits just as hard here, conveyed entirely through rules text. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Moment

Some necessary backstory, and here is your *FF7* spoiler alert: Prior to the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a battle with Sephiroth. After years of experimentation, the duo get away. Throughout this period, Cloud is delirious, but Zack vows to take care of his friend. They eventually make it the edge outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by forces. Presumed dead, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the role of a first-class SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Passing of the Torch on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the card mechanics in essence let you reenact this whole scene. The Buster Sword is featured as a top-tier piece of armament in the set 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 with the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, allowing you to look through your library for an artifact card. When used in tandem, these pieces unfold as follows: You summon Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Owing to the design Zack’s signature action is structured, you can potentially use it when blocking, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to prevent the damage altogether. So you can do this at a key moment, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a powerful 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 precisely the kind of experience referred to when discussing “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the gameplay make you remember.

Extending Past the Obvious Interaction

But the thematic here is incredibly rich, and it goes past just this combo. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity appears in the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This kind of implies that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER enhancement he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a tiny reference, but one that cleverly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.

Zack’s card does not depict his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the rain-soaked cliff where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* allows you to relive the legacy for yourself. You make the sacrifice. You transfer the sword on. And for a brief second, while engaged in a strategy game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most impactful game in the saga to date.