🔗 Share this article

A significant part of the appeal found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the way countless cards depict familiar tales. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a portrait of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated Blitzball pro whose signature move is a specialized shot that pushes a defender aside. The card's mechanics represent this in nuanced ways. This type of narrative is widespread in the entire Final Fantasy offering, and not all joyful stories. A number serve as poignant reminders of emotional events fans still mull over years after.

"Emotional narratives are a key element of the Final Fantasy legacy," explained a principal designer involved with the project. "The team established some overarching principles, but in the end, it was largely on a card-by-card basis."

While the Zack Fair card is not a competitive powerhouse, it stands as one of the collection's most clever examples of flavor via rules. It skillfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal dramatic moments brilliantly, all while leveraging some of the product's core systems. And even if it steers clear of spoiling anything, those familiar with the tale will immediately grasp the meaning embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay

At a cost of one mana of white (the hue of good) in this collection, Zack Fair has a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 token. By paying one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to give another unit you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s markers, plus an gear, onto that target creature.

These mechanics portrays a moment FF fans are very know well, a moment that has been retold again and again — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands powerfully here, expressed entirely through card abilities. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Scene

For backstory, and consider this 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 imprisonment, the duo manage to escape. Throughout this period, Cloud is comatose, but Zack makes sure to take care of his companion. They finally arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by forces. Left behind, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the persona of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Legacy on the Tabletop

On the tabletop, the rules effectively let you relive this whole event. The Buster Sword appears as a strong piece of equipment in the set that costs three mana and provides the wielding creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can make Zack into a respectable 4/6 with the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to look through your library for an weapon card. In combination, these three cards function like this: You summon Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Owing to the way Zack’s signature action is worded, you can technically use it when blocking, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and activate it to negate the attack completely. This allows you to do this at a key moment, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a powerful 6/4 that, every time he does damage a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two spells for free. This is precisely the kind of experience meant when talking about “emotional resonance” — not explaining the scene, but letting the mechanics make you remember.

More Than the Main Combo

And the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it goes further than just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova card appears in the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This in a way implies that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER enhancement he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a tiny connection, but one that cleverly ties the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

This design doesn't show his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the memorable bluff where it concludes. It isn't necessary. *Magic* lets you reenact the moment for yourself. You make the ultimate play. You pass the sword on. And for a short instant, while playing a card battle, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most beloved game in the franchise to date.