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A major part of the allure of the Final Fantasy crossover release for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the way so many cards depict familiar tales. Take for instance Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a glimpse of the protagonist at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose signature move is a unique shot that pushes a defender aside. The abilities represent this with subtlety. This type of narrative is prevalent throughout the whole Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all joyful stories. Some are somber echoes of tragedies fans still mull over decades later.

"Moving stories are a central part of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a principal game designer on the project. "We built some general rules, but in the end, it was primarily on a individual basis."

Though the Zack Fair may not be a competitive powerhouse, it stands as one of the release's most elegant pieces of flavor by way of gameplay. It masterfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal dramatic moments with great effect, all while leveraging some of the set's key mechanics. And even if it doesn't spoil anything, those familiar with the saga will immediately grasp the emotional weight within it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the color of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair is a base power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 counter. For the cost of one generic mana, you can destroy the card to bestow another unit you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s markers, along with an Equipment, onto that target creature.

These mechanics paints a sequence FF fans are extremely familiar with, a moment that has been revisited multiple times — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline versions in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it resonates powerfully here, conveyed completely through card abilities. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Scene

A bit of context, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a battle with Sephiroth. After years of imprisonment, the friends break free. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack ensures to look after his comrade. They finally reach the edge outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the persona of a elite SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Legacy on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the card mechanics in essence let you reenact this whole event. The Buster Sword is a a strong piece of armament in the set that costs three mana and gives the wielding creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can turn Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has deliberate interaction with the Buster Sword, enabling you to find for an weapon card. When used in tandem, these pieces function as follows: You play Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Due to the design Zack’s key mechanic is designed, you can technically use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an assault and activate it to prevent the attack completely. Therefore, you can perform this action at a key moment, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a powerful 6/4 that, each time he does damage a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two spells without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of interaction referred to when discussing “flavorful design” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the mechanics evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Main Combo

And the flavor here is oh-so-delicious, and it reaches past just this combo. The Jenova card is part of the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which also becomes a Mutant. This in a way suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER enhancement he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. It's a subtle reference, but one that subtly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the expansion.

The card doesn't show his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the rain-soaked bluff where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* enables you to recreate the legacy yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You hand over the legacy on. And for a short instant, while playing a strategy game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the saga ever made.