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A core element of the charm within the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the fashion countless cards tell familiar narratives. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a glimpse of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a renowned sports star whose key technique is a specialized shot that takes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules mirror this perfectly. Such narrative is prevalent across the entire Final Fantasy set, and they aren't all joyful stories. A number are poignant echoes of tragedies fans remember vividly to this day.

"Moving narratives are a key element of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a lead designer involved with the collaboration. "They created some general rules, but ultimately, it was mostly on a card-by-card level."

Though the Zack Fair may not be a top-tier card, it represents one of the set's most clever pieces of narrative design via mechanics. It skillfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial cinematic moments in spectacular fashion, all while leveraging some of the expansion's central systems. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those who know the tale will instantly understand the significance behind it.

The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay

For one white mana (the alignment of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair is a starting stat line of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 marker. By paying one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to give another creature you control indestructible and move all of Zack’s counters, plus an gear, onto that other creature.

These mechanics paints a sequence FF fans are all too know well, a moment that has been reimagined throughout the years — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline iterations in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it resonates powerfully here, conveyed entirely through card abilities. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

Some necessary context, and consider this your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of testing, the friends break free. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack makes sure to take care of his comrade. They finally arrive at the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the identity of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Battlefield

In a game, the rules essentially let you reenact this iconic event. The Buster Sword is featured as a strong piece of armament in the set that requires three mana and provides the wielding creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, letting you to search your deck for an artifact card. When used in tandem, these pieces unfold in this way: You play Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Because of the design Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can actually use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to cancel out the attack altogether. This allows you to do this at a key moment, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a formidable 6/4 that, every time he strikes a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two spells without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of moment referred to when discussing “flavorful design” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design make you remember.

Beyond the Central Combo

However, the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it goes further than just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova card is part of the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which then becomes a Mutant. This kind of implies that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a subtle reference, but one that implicitly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the expansion.

The card doesn't show his death, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the memorable bluff where it all ends. It does not need to. *Magic* enables you to reenact the legacy personally. You make the ultimate play. You transfer the legacy on. And for a short instant, while engaged in a card battle, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most beloved game in the series for many fans.