A major aspect of the charm found in the Final Fantasy crossover release for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the way numerous cards narrate familiar tales. Consider Tidus, Blitzball Star, which gives a snapshot of the protagonist at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous Blitzball pro whose key technique is a fancy shot that knocks a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules represent this with subtlety. These kinds of flavor is widespread across the entire Final Fantasy offering, and some are not fun and games. Several serve as poignant callbacks of emotional events fans still mull over years after.
"Moving tales are a key part of the Final Fantasy legacy," noted a senior game designer on the set. "The team established some broad guidelines, but ultimately, it was largely on a case-by-case level."
Even though the Zack Fair card may not be a top-tier card, it stands as one of the collection's most refined pieces of narrative design through mechanics. It masterfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial dramatic moments brilliantly, all while leveraging some of the expansion's core gameplay elements. And while it avoids revealing anything, those familiar with the story will immediately grasp the meaning within it.
At a cost of one white mana (the color of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair is a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 counter. By paying one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to grant another unit you control indestructible and put all of Zack’s bonuses, along with an gear, onto that other creature.
This card paints a sequence FF fans are all too know well, a moment that has been revisited again and again — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations 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.
Some necessary backstory, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a battle with Sephiroth. After extended imprisonment, the duo get away. During their ordeal, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack makes sure to take care of his companion. They eventually arrive at the edge outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the role of a first-class SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.
In a game, the card mechanics in essence let you recreate this entire event. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of gear in the set that costs three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can transform Zack into a formidable 4/6 with the Buster Sword attached.
The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to look through your library for an equipment card. Together, these three cards function as follows: You cast Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.
Because of the manner Zack’s key mechanic is worded, you can actually use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and trigger it to prevent the damage entirely. So 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 cards for free. This is precisely the kind of experience meant when talking about “emotional resonance” — not explaining the scene, but letting the card design make you remember.
But the narrative here is deeply satisfying, and it extends past just this combo. The Jenova card appears in the collection 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 in a way hints that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle connection, but one that implicitly connects the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the expansion.
Zack’s card does not depict his death, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy cliff where it happens. It doesn't have to. *Magic* allows you to reenact the legacy yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You transfer the weapon on. And for a fleeting moment, while playing a strategy game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most influential game in the franchise to date.
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