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A core part of the charm found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the manner so many cards narrate familiar stories. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which gives a glimpse of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose key technique is a unique shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The card's mechanics represent this perfectly. These kinds of storytelling is found in the entire Final Fantasy set, and they aren't all fun and games. Some act as heartbreaking echoes of emotional events fans remember vividly decades later.

"Emotional stories are a vital element of the Final Fantasy legacy," explained a senior game designer on the set. "We built some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a individual basis."

Though the Zack Fair is not a competitive powerhouse, it represents one of the collection's most clever instances of storytelling via rules. It skillfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important dramatic moments in spectacular fashion, all while leveraging some of the product's key mechanics. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those familiar with the tale will instantly understand the significance embedded in it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

For one mana of white (the color of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair has a base power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 marker. For the cost of one generic mana, you can remove from play the card to grant another ally you control protection from destruction and transfer all of Zack’s markers, plus an gear, onto that target creature.

These mechanics depicts a scene FF fans are extremely familiar with, a moment that has been reimagined multiple times — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits with equal force here, expressed entirely through gameplay mechanics. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

For history, and here is your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following extended testing, the duo manage to escape. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack ensures to look after his friend. They finally reach the edge outside Midgar before Zack is killed by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the role of a elite SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Passing of the Torch on the Game Board

In a game, the rules in essence let you reenact this entire scene. The Buster Sword appears as a strong piece of gear in the collection that costs three mana and gives the equipped creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can transform Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has intentional combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to search your deck for an equipment card. When used in tandem, these three cards unfold like this: You play Zack, and he receives 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 sacrifice ability is worded, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and trigger it to prevent the damage altogether. Therefore, you can do this at a key moment, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a formidable 6/4 that, whenever he does damage a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two spells at no cost. This is just the kind of experience meant when discussing “flavorful design” — not explaining the scene, but letting the gameplay evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Main Interaction

And the flavor here is incredibly rich, and it reaches further than just this combo. 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 also becomes a Mutant. This sort of suggests that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER enhancement he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle connection, but one that implicitly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.

The card does not depict his end, or Cloud’s confusion, or the stormy bluff where it happens. It isn't necessary. *Magic* allows you to recreate the passing personally. You perform the ultimate play. You pass the legacy on. And for a brief second, while enjoying a trading card game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most impactful game in the series to date.