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A major part of the allure found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the fashion countless cards narrate well-known tales. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which provides a glimpse of the hero at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous Blitzball pro whose signature move is a fancy shot that knocks a defender aside. The card's mechanics mirror this in nuanced ways. This type of storytelling is found across the whole Final Fantasy offering, and some are not fun and games. Some are somber callbacks of tragedies fans continue to reflect on years after.

"Emotional narratives are a central component of the Final Fantasy legacy," explained a lead game designer for the collaboration. "They created some general rules, but in the end, it was primarily on a card-by-card level."

Even though the Zack Fair card may not be a tournament staple, it represents one of the collection's most elegant examples of flavor via gameplay. It skillfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial story moments brilliantly, all while capitalizing on some of the expansion's core mechanics. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those acquainted with the story will immediately grasp the meaning embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay

For one mana of white (the hue of protagonists) in this collection, Zack Fair enters with a starting stat line 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 grant another creature you control indestructible and put all of Zack’s markers, plus an gear, onto that other creature.

These mechanics paints a sequence FF fans are all too remember, a moment that has been retold multiple times — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline versions in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands just as hard here, expressed entirely through card abilities. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Scene

For history, and take this as your *FF7* warning: Prior to the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following years of imprisonment, the duo break free. The entire time, Cloud is comatose, but Zack ensures to take care of his comrade. They eventually reach the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is killed by forces. Abandoned, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the identity of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Game Board

In a game, the rules effectively let you relive this whole sequence. The Buster Sword is a a top-tier piece of equipment in the set that requires three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can transform Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud Strife card also has intentional interaction with the Buster Sword, letting you to find for an weapon card. Together, these three cards unfold in this way: You play Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.

Owing to the way Zack’s key mechanic is worded, you can technically use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and activate it to prevent the attack completely. Therefore, you can do this at any time, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a formidable 6/4 that, each time he does damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and cast two spells for free. This is just the kind of moment referred to when discussing “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the mechanics evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Obvious Synergy

But the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it goes beyond just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova card appears in the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This kind of suggests that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER treatment he received, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a small nod, but one that cleverly connects the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

Zack’s card doesn't show his end, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy cliff where it happens. It does not need to. *Magic* allows you to recreate the legacy yourself. You choose the ultimate play. You pass the sword on. And for a fleeting moment, while engaged in a trading card game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the franchise ever made.