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A major aspect of the appeal within the *Final Fantasy* crossover set for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the fashion countless cards tell iconic stories. Consider the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a snapshot of the hero at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose signature move is a fancy shot that takes a defender out of the way. The abilities mirror this with subtlety. These kinds of storytelling is prevalent across the whole Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all lighthearted tales. A number serve as somber callbacks of tragedies fans continue to reflect on to this day.

"Emotional tales are a vital element of the Final Fantasy legacy," noted a principal game designer for the collaboration. "They created some overarching principles, but in the end, it was largely on a case-by-case basis."

Even though the Zack Fair card isn't a top-tier card, it stands as one of the release's most clever pieces of narrative design by way of gameplay. It masterfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important cinematic moments brilliantly, all while utilizing some of the product's key mechanics. And while it avoids revealing anything, those acquainted with the story will instantly understand the meaning within it.

The Card's Design: A Narrative in Play

At a cost of one mana of white (the alignment of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair is a base stat line of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 counter. By spending one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to grant another unit you control indestructible and move all of Zack’s markers, along with an gear, onto that chosen creature.

These mechanics depicts a sequence FF fans are all too remember, a moment that has been revisited multiple times — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits 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.

A Spoiler for the Card

A bit of backstory, and here is your *FF7* warning: Before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a battle with Sephiroth. After years of imprisonment, the pair break free. During their ordeal, Cloud is delirious, but Zack ensures to protect his comrade. They eventually 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*.

Playing Out the Moment on the Game Board

In a game, the card mechanics essentially let you reenact this entire event. The Buster Sword appears as a strong piece of armament in the collection that costs three mana and gives the wielding creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can make Zack into a formidable 4/6 with the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear synergy with the Buster Sword, letting you to search your deck for an weapon card. When used in tandem, these three cards unfold like this: You summon Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.

Because of the design Zack’s sacrifice ability is worded, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and trigger it to negate the damage entirely. So you can do this at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a powerful 6/4 that, each time he deals combat damage a player, lets you gain card advantage and play two cards without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of interaction alluded to when talking about “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design make you remember.

More Than the Obvious Interaction

But the flavor here is incredibly rich, and it extends beyond just this combo. 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 additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This sort of implies that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a subtle nod, but one that implicitly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the set.

Zack’s card doesn't show his death, or Cloud’s confusion, or the rain-soaked location where it happens. It does not need to. *Magic* enables you to recreate the legacy yourself. You make the sacrifice. You transfer the weapon on. And for a brief second, while enjoying a card battle, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the saga to date.