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A core aspect of the charm found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* is the fashion countless cards depict familiar tales. Consider Tidus, Blitzball Star, which gives a portrait of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose signature move is a specialized shot that knocks a defender aside. The gameplay rules reflect this in nuanced ways. Such flavor is widespread across the complete Final Fantasy set, and not all lighthearted tales. Several serve as somber callbacks of emotional events fans still mull over to this day.

"Emotional narratives are a key element of the Final Fantasy franchise," noted a senior game designer involved with the collaboration. "They created some broad guidelines, but ultimately, it was mostly on a card-by-card level."

While the Zack Fair card may not be a top-tier card, it represents one of the set's most elegant examples of flavor through gameplay. It artfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important dramatic moments brilliantly, all while leveraging some of the expansion's core gameplay elements. And while it avoids revealing anything, those who know the saga will quickly recognize the emotional weight embedded in it.

How It Works: A Narrative in Play

At a cost of one white mana (the alignment of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair enters with a base power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 token. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can remove from play the card to grant another creature you control indestructible and move all of Zack’s markers, along with an gear, onto that chosen creature.

This design 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 reimagined retellings in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it lands powerfully here, communicated entirely through card abilities. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Moment

For history, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Prior to the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a battle with Sephiroth. After extended testing, the duo manage to escape. During their ordeal, Cloud is comatose, but Zack ensures to protect his companion. They finally make it the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by troops. Presumed dead, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the role of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Legacy on the Game Board

Through gameplay, the rules in essence let you relive this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is a a top-tier piece of equipment in the collection that costs three mana and provides the wielding creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can transform Zack into a respectable 4/6 with the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has deliberate combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to search your deck for an equipment card. When used in tandem, these three cards unfold like this: You cast Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Because of the manner Zack’s key mechanic is structured, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to negate the attack altogether. So you can make this play at a key moment, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a strong 6/4 that, every time he strikes a player, lets you draw two cards and play two spells for free. This is exactly the kind of moment referred to when talking about “flavorful design” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

Beyond the Main Synergy

However, the narrative here is incredibly rich, and it reaches further than just this combo. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity appears in 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 sort of implies that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER enhancement he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. It's a tiny connection, but one that subtly ties the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the set.

The card does not depict his death, or Cloud’s confusion, or the memorable cliff where it all ends. It isn't necessary. *Magic* lets you reenact the moment yourself. You perform the sacrifice. You hand over the weapon on. And for a brief second, while enjoying a strategy game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the series ever made.