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A core aspect of the appeal within the Final Fantasy crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* is the fashion so many cards depict well-known narratives. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a glimpse of the hero at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous Blitzball pro whose signature move is a unique shot that pushes a defender aside. The gameplay rules mirror this perfectly. This type of storytelling is widespread in the complete Final Fantasy offering, and some are not lighthearted tales. Some are somber callbacks of emotional events fans remember vividly decades later.

"Powerful narratives are a central part of the Final Fantasy legacy," explained a principal game designer involved with the collaboration. "The team established some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a case-by-case basis."

Though the Zack Fair isn't a top-tier card, it represents one of the release's most elegant examples of flavor by way of gameplay. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal cinematic moments in spectacular fashion, all while capitalizing on some of the product's core mechanics. And even if it avoids revealing anything, those who know the tale will instantly understand the meaning within it.

The Mechanics: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the alignment of heroes) in this set, Zack Fair enters with a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 marker. By spending one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to bestow another ally you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s markers, as well as an Equipment, onto that chosen creature.

This design paints a sequence FF fans are extremely know well, a moment that has been reimagined throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline versions in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands with equal force here, conveyed completely through rules text. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

A bit of history, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following years of testing, the pair get away. The entire time, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack vows to look after his companion. They finally reach the plains outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by troops. Abandoned, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the role of a elite SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Moment on the Battlefield

Through gameplay, the card mechanics in essence let you reenact this iconic scene. The Buster Sword is featured as a top-tier piece of gear in the set that costs three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can turn Zack into a respectable 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has deliberate combo potential with the Buster Sword, letting you to search your deck for an weapon card. In combination, these pieces play out in this way: You play Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Owing to the way Zack’s key mechanic is worded, you can actually use it when blocking, meaning you can “block” an assault and trigger it to prevent the attack completely. This allows you to perform this action at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a formidable 6/4 that, each time he deals combat damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two cards for free. This is exactly the kind of moment referred to when talking about “flavorful design” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

Extending Past the Obvious Interaction

And the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it reaches beyond just this combo. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This sort of hints that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he received, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a small connection, but one that subtly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the set.

The card doesn't show his demise, or Cloud’s confusion, or the rain-soaked bluff where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* allows you to reenact the legacy yourself. You perform the ultimate play. You hand over the legacy on. And for a fleeting moment, while engaged in a strategy game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most beloved game in the saga for many fans.