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A core part of the allure found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* is the way so many cards tell well-known tales. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which provides a glimpse of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a renowned professional athlete whose secret weapon is a fancy shot that takes a defender aside. The abilities mirror this with subtlety. Such flavor is found in the entire Final Fantasy set, and some are not lighthearted tales. Some serve as poignant callbacks of sad moments fans still mull over decades later.

"Moving narratives are a central part of the Final Fantasy franchise," noted a principal designer on the collaboration. "The team established some broad guidelines, but ultimately, it was mostly on a individual basis."

While the Zack Fair is not a competitive powerhouse, it represents one of the release's most elegant instances of narrative design through gameplay. It masterfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal dramatic moments in spectacular fashion, all while capitalizing on some of the expansion's core systems. And while it avoids revealing anything, those acquainted with the story will quickly recognize the emotional weight within it.

How It Works: Flavor in Rules

For one white mana (the alignment of good) in this collection, Zack Fair has a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 counter. By spending one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to grant another ally you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s markers, along with an gear, onto that chosen creature.

These mechanics portrays a moment 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*. Yet it resonates with equal force here, expressed solely through gameplay mechanics. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Scene

A bit of backstory, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Prior to the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a confrontation with Sephiroth. After extended imprisonment, the friends get away. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack makes sure to take care of his friend. They finally arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by troops. Left behind, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the persona of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Battlefield

Through gameplay, the card mechanics in essence let you recreate this whole sequence. The Buster Sword is featured as a top-tier piece of equipment in the collection that requires three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can turn 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 search your deck for an equipment card. When used in tandem, these three cards unfold in this way: You cast Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Owing to the manner Zack’s signature action is structured, you can technically use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and activate it to prevent the damage entirely. Therefore, you can do this at a key moment, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a formidable 6/4 that, whenever he strikes a player, lets you gain card advantage and play two cards without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of interaction referred to when discussing “emotional resonance” — not explaining the scene, but letting the mechanics trigger the recollection.

More Than the Central Combo

And the narrative here is oh-so-delicious, and it reaches beyond just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity 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 then becomes a Mutant. This kind of suggests that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle connection, but one that cleverly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the expansion.

This design doesn't show his demise, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the memorable bluff where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* lets you reenact the legacy personally. You make the sacrifice. You pass the weapon on. And for a brief second, while playing a card battle, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most influential game in the series for many fans.