🔗 Share this article

A core aspect of the allure of the Final Fantasy crossover set for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the manner so many cards tell familiar tales. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a portrait of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a renowned professional athlete whose secret weapon is a unique shot that knocks a defender out of the way. The abilities mirror this with subtlety. Such flavor is found across the whole Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all fun and games. Several act as poignant echoes of tragedies fans continue to reflect on to this day.

"Emotional narratives are a vital element of the Final Fantasy franchise," wrote a principal designer for the collaboration. "We built some broad guidelines, but ultimately, it was primarily on a card-by-card basis."

Even though the Zack Fair is not a top-tier card, it stands as one of the collection's most elegant pieces of flavor via gameplay. It skillfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial story moments brilliantly, all while leveraging some of the expansion's core mechanics. And while it doesn't spoil anything, those who know the story will instantly understand the meaning embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay

For one mana of white (the color of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair enters with a base stat line of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 token. By spending one generic mana, you can destroy the card to grant another ally you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s counters, plus an gear, onto that other creature.

This design portrays a sequence FF fans are very remember, a moment that has been reimagined throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new versions in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it lands with equal force here, communicated completely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

A bit of backstory, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Prior to the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of testing, the friends break free. During their ordeal, Cloud is comatose, but Zack makes sure to protect his companion. They eventually reach the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by forces. Left behind, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the role of a elite SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Legacy on the Game Board

Through gameplay, the rules essentially let you relive this iconic event. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of armament in the collection that costs three mana and provides the wielding creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can make Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, allowing you to find for an artifact card. When used in tandem, these three cards function as follows: You summon Zack, and he gets 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 manner Zack’s signature action is structured, you can potentially use it when blocking, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and trigger it to negate the attack altogether. This allows you to do this at any time, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a strong 6/4 that, each time he strikes a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two spells without paying their mana cost. This is precisely the kind of interaction alluded to when discussing “emotional resonance” — not explaining the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Obvious Interaction

And the narrative here is oh-so-delicious, and it extends beyond just these cards. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity 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 then becomes a Mutant. This sort of suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle reference, but one that implicitly ties the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.

The card does not depict his end, or Cloud’s trauma, or the rain-soaked bluff where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* lets you reenact the moment for yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You transfer the sword on. And for a brief second, while engaged in a trading card game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.