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A significant part of the charm of the *Final Fantasy* crossover set for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the manner so many cards depict well-known stories. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a glimpse of the protagonist at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated Blitzball pro whose secret weapon is a fancy shot that takes a defender out of the way. The card's mechanics represent this with subtlety. This type of narrative is found throughout the entire Final Fantasy set, and they aren't all joyful stories. Several are heartbreaking echoes of emotional events fans remember vividly decades later.

"Moving stories are a key element of the Final Fantasy legacy," wrote a principal designer on the project. "We built some broad guidelines, but in the end, it was primarily on a individual level."

Though the Zack Fair may not be a tournament staple, it is one of the release's most refined pieces of storytelling via mechanics. It artfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial dramatic moments with great effect, all while utilizing some of the set's key gameplay elements. And even if it steers clear of spoiling anything, those who know the tale will quickly recognize the significance behind it.

The Card's Design: A Narrative in Play

At a cost of one white mana (the hue of protagonists) in this collection, 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 colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to bestow another unit you control protection from destruction and transfer all of Zack’s markers, along with an Equipment, onto that target creature.

This card paints a scene FF fans are very familiar with, a moment that has been revisited throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it resonates powerfully here, communicated completely through card abilities. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Card

Some necessary history, and take this as your *FF7* warning: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following extended testing, the duo break free. The entire time, Cloud is comatose, but Zack makes sure to look after his comrade. They finally make it the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Abandoned, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the identity of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Tabletop

On the tabletop, the abilities in essence let you recreate this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of equipment in the set that requires three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can turn Zack into a respectable 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.

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

Due to the design Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to cancel out the damage altogether. This allows you to make this play at a key moment, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a strong 6/4 that, whenever he does damage a player, lets you gain card advantage and cast two spells without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of interaction alluded to when talking about “emotional resonance” — not revealing the scene, but letting the mechanics trigger the recollection.

Beyond the Obvious Interaction

And the narrative here is deeply satisfying, and it goes beyond just these cards. The Jenova card appears in the collection 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, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. It's a tiny reference, but one that implicitly connects the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the expansion.

Zack’s card avoids showing his demise, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the memorable bluff where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* enables you to reenact the passing yourself. You make the sacrifice. You transfer the sword on. And for a brief second, while enjoying a trading card game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.