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A core element of the allure within the Final Fantasy crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* is the way countless cards narrate well-known narratives. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a portrait of the hero at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a renowned professional athlete whose key technique is a fancy shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The card's mechanics reflect this with subtlety. Such storytelling is prevalent across the complete Final Fantasy offering, and some are not joyful stories. A number serve as poignant callbacks of sad moments fans still mull over decades later.

"Emotional stories are a key element of the Final Fantasy franchise," noted a principal designer involved with the project. "The team established some broad guidelines, but in the end, it was largely on a card-by-card basis."

While the Zack Fair isn't a competitive powerhouse, it represents one of the set's most elegant pieces of storytelling through mechanics. It artfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial story moments brilliantly, all while capitalizing on some of the expansion's core gameplay elements. And even if it avoids revealing anything, those acquainted with the saga will quickly recognize the meaning embedded in it.

How It Works: A Narrative in Play

At a cost of one mana of white (the color of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair has a starting stat line of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 marker. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can remove from play the card to give another creature you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s markers, along with an gear, onto that target creature.

These mechanics portrays a moment FF fans are all too familiar with, a moment that has been retold throughout the years — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined iterations in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it resonates with equal force here, communicated entirely through rules text. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Moment

Some necessary history, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a battle with Sephiroth. After extended testing, the duo get away. The entire time, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack vows to look after his companion. They eventually reach the plains outside Midgar before Zack is killed by Shinra soldiers. Presumed dead, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the identity of a elite SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Game Board

In a game, the card mechanics essentially let you reenact this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of gear in the set that costs three mana and gives the equipped creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can make Zack into a solid 4/6 with the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear interaction with the Buster Sword, letting you to look through your library for an artifact card. In combination, these three cards function as follows: You play Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Due to the design Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can technically use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and trigger it to prevent the attack entirely. 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 cast two cards without paying their mana cost. This is exactly the kind of experience meant when discussing “emotional resonance” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

Beyond the Main Synergy

However, the thematic here is incredibly rich, and it goes past just these cards. The Jenova card is part of the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This sort of implies that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a subtle connection, but one that subtly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the set.

The card doesn't show his end, or Cloud’s confusion, or the rain-soaked location where it happens. It does not need to. *Magic* lets you reenact the moment for yourself. You make the ultimate play. You transfer the weapon on. And for a fleeting moment, while playing a card battle, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most influential game in the franchise ever made.