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A core part of the appeal within the Final Fantasy crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the fashion numerous cards depict well-known stories. Consider the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which gives a glimpse of the character at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a renowned Blitzball pro whose key technique is a specialized shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The abilities mirror this with subtlety. Such storytelling is prevalent across the entire Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all lighthearted tales. A number are poignant callbacks of tragedies fans still mull over to this day.

"Powerful tales are a central part of the Final Fantasy franchise," explained a senior designer for the project. "We built some general rules, but in the end, it was mostly on a case-by-case level."

Though the Zack Fair isn't a top-tier card, it represents one of the release's most clever instances of storytelling by way of mechanics. It artfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal cinematic moments in spectacular fashion, all while capitalizing on some of the product's central systems. And although it steers clear of spoiling anything, those who know the tale will quickly recognize the significance embedded in it.

How It Works: Story Through Gameplay

For one mana of white (the color of good) in this collection, Zack Fair is a starting stat line of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 counter. By paying one generic mana, you can sacrifice the card to give another ally you control indestructible and put all of Zack’s counters, plus an Equipment, onto that target creature.

This design paints a sequence FF fans are all too know well, a moment that has been revisited throughout the years — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline iterations in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it resonates with equal force here, expressed completely through rules text. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Moment

A bit of context, and consider this your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of testing, the duo get away. The entire time, Cloud is comatose, but Zack vows to look after his companion. They eventually reach the edge outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by troops. Abandoned, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the persona of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Moment on the Game Board

On the tabletop, the rules effectively let you relive this entire scene. The Buster Sword appears as a top-tier piece of equipment in the collection that requires three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can make Zack into a respectable 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear interaction with the Buster Sword, enabling you to look through your library for an equipment card. Together, these pieces play out like this: You play Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.

Due to the design Zack’s key mechanic is designed, you can technically use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and trigger it to negate the attack entirely. This allows you to do this at any time, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a powerful 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and play two cards without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of interaction meant when discussing “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

Extending Past the Obvious Combo

However, the narrative here is oh-so-delicious, and it extends further than just these cards. The Jenova card appears in the set 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 hints that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a small nod, but one that implicitly links the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the expansion.

This design does not depict his demise, or Cloud’s confusion, or the rain-soaked cliff where it happens. It does not need to. *Magic* enables you to recreate the legacy yourself. You make the ultimate play. You pass the legacy on. And for a short instant, while enjoying a trading card game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the saga for many fans.