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A major element of the charm of the *Final Fantasy* crossover set for *Magic: The Gathering* is the way countless cards depict iconic tales. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a glimpse of the protagonist at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose secret weapon is a unique shot that knocks a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules mirror this with subtlety. These kinds of narrative is found across the entire Final Fantasy set, and some are not lighthearted tales. Some act as poignant reminders of emotional events fans remember vividly years after.

"Emotional stories are a vital part of the Final Fantasy franchise," explained a principal game designer on the project. "They created some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a individual basis."

Even though the Zack Fair isn't a tournament staple, it represents one of the release's most elegant instances of flavor via gameplay. It masterfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal cinematic moments brilliantly, all while leveraging some of the product's central gameplay elements. And even if it steers clear of spoiling anything, those acquainted with the story will quickly recognize the significance within it.

The Mechanics: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the hue of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair is a base stat line of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 token. By paying one generic mana, you can sacrifice the card to bestow another creature you control indestructible and move all of Zack’s counters, along with an gear, onto that target creature.

These mechanics portrays a scene FF fans are all too remember, a moment that has been revisited throughout the years — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits with equal force here, expressed solely through card abilities. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Card

A bit of context, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Prior to the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of testing, the friends get away. Throughout this period, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack makes sure to take care of his comrade. They eventually make it the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by troops. Left behind, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the identity of a elite SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Moment on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the card mechanics in essence let you relive this iconic event. The Buster Sword appears as a strong piece of armament in the set that costs three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can transform Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud Strife card also has deliberate combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to look through your library for an artifact card. In combination, these three cards unfold in this way: You summon Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Because of the way Zack’s sacrifice ability is structured, you can potentially use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “block” an assault and trigger it to cancel out the attack entirely. This allows you to do this at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a formidable 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you gain card advantage and cast two cards for free. This is just the kind of moment referred to when talking about “emotional resonance” — not revealing the scene, but letting the gameplay evoke the memory.

More Than the Central Interaction

And the thematic here is oh-so-delicious, and it extends beyond just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of the collection 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 implies that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER enhancement he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. It's a small nod, but one that implicitly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the expansion.

The card does not depict his death, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy bluff where it happens. It does not need to. *Magic* lets you reenact the legacy personally. You choose the sacrifice. You hand over the legacy on. And for a short instant, while enjoying a trading card game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.