🔗 Share this article

A core element of the appeal found in the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the way numerous cards depict iconic tales. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a snapshot of the character at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated sports star whose secret weapon is a unique shot that pushes a defender aside. The gameplay rules represent this with subtlety. This type of storytelling is widespread in the entire Final Fantasy offering, and not all joyful stories. Some act as somber callbacks of tragedies fans continue to reflect on decades later.

"Emotional narratives are a key component of the Final Fantasy franchise," explained a senior designer for the project. "They created some general rules, but finally, it was largely on a individual level."

Though the Zack Fair card isn't a top-tier card, it represents one of the release's most refined pieces of storytelling through mechanics. It masterfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial cinematic moments with great effect, all while utilizing some of the expansion's core mechanics. And while it steers clear of spoiling anything, those familiar with the saga will quickly recognize the significance embedded in it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one white mana (the hue of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair is a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 counter. For the cost of one generic mana, you can destroy the card to give another ally you control protection from destruction and transfer all of Zack’s counters, along with an gear, onto that chosen creature.

This design depicts a moment FF fans are all too familiar with, a moment that has been retold again and again — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. But somehow it resonates with equal force here, conveyed entirely through card abilities. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Card

For backstory, and here is your *FF7* warning: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of imprisonment, the duo get away. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack ensures to take care of his comrade. They eventually arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is killed by forces. Abandoned, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the persona of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Moment on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the card mechanics essentially let you relive this whole event. The Buster Sword is featured as a strong piece of equipment in the set that requires three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can transform Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has intentional synergy with the Buster Sword, allowing you to find for an weapon card. Together, these pieces play out as follows: You cast Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Because of the way Zack’s signature action is structured, you can actually use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an assault and trigger it to negate the attack entirely. So you can do this at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a strong 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two cards at no cost. This is just the kind of experience referred to when discussing “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.

More Than the Obvious Combo

However, the narrative here is deeply satisfying, and it reaches beyond just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity appears in the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which then becomes a Mutant. This kind of hints that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER enhancement he underwent, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle connection, but one that implicitly ties the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

The card does not depict his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the rain-soaked cliff where it happens. It isn't necessary. *Magic* lets you recreate the legacy yourself. You perform the sacrifice. You transfer the weapon on. And for a fleeting moment, while enjoying a card battle, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the saga for many fans.