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A significant part of the appeal found in the Final Fantasy crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* is the fashion so many cards tell familiar stories. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a portrait of the character at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose key technique is a unique shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The abilities reflect this with subtlety. This type of flavor is found throughout the whole Final Fantasy offering, and some are not joyful stories. Several are poignant callbacks of sad moments fans continue to reflect on to this day.

"Moving narratives are a key element of the Final Fantasy franchise," explained a senior designer involved with the set. "We built some overarching principles, but ultimately, it was largely on a individual basis."

Even though the Zack Fair isn't a tournament staple, it stands as one of the release's most clever pieces of narrative design by way of gameplay. It artfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important dramatic moments with great effect, all while utilizing some of the set's key mechanics. And even if it doesn't spoil anything, those acquainted with the tale will immediately grasp the meaning behind it.

The Mechanics: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the alignment of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair is a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 counter. By paying one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to grant another creature you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s bonuses, plus an Equipment, onto that chosen creature.

These mechanics depicts a sequence FF fans are very know well, a moment that has been revisited multiple times — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it resonates with equal force here, expressed solely through rules text. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Scene

A bit of history, and here is your *FF7* spoiler alert: Before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a confrontation with Sephiroth. After years of testing, the pair break free. Throughout this period, Cloud is comatose, but Zack ensures to look after his friend. They eventually 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, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Passing of the Torch on the Game Board

Through gameplay, the card mechanics essentially let you recreate this iconic scene. The Buster Sword appears as a strong piece of equipment in the set that costs three mana and gives 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 wielded.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear interaction with the Buster Sword, allowing you to search your deck for an equipment card. Together, these three cards unfold as follows: You cast Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Because of the manner Zack’s sacrifice ability is structured, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and trigger it to prevent the damage altogether. Therefore, you can perform this action at any time, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a strong 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two spells without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of experience alluded to when talking about “emotional resonance” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the mechanics make you remember.

Beyond the Main Interaction

But the narrative here is deeply satisfying, and it goes past just this combo. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which also becomes a Mutant. This in a way suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER treatment he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a tiny reference, but one that implicitly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the set.

Zack’s card doesn't show his death, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the stormy cliff where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* enables you to recreate the moment yourself. You perform the sacrifice. You pass the sword on. And for a brief second, while playing a strategy game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most beloved game in the series ever made.