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A significant 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 the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a snapshot of the protagonist at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a renowned Blitzball pro whose signature move is a specialized shot that takes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules represent this perfectly. These kinds of narrative is found across the entire Final Fantasy offering, and some are not lighthearted tales. A number are somber echoes of tragedies fans still mull over to this day.

"Powerful stories are a key component of the Final Fantasy series," noted a lead game designer on the set. "They created some broad guidelines, but ultimately, it was mostly on a individual level."

Even though the Zack Fair card is not a competitive powerhouse, it stands as one of the set's most elegant instances of flavor through gameplay. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal story moments with great effect, all while leveraging some of the product's core mechanics. And while it avoids revealing anything, those who know the saga will quickly recognize the emotional weight within it.

How It Works: Flavor in Rules

For one white mana (the alignment of good) in this set, Zack Fair has a base stat line of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 marker. By spending one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to grant another creature you control indestructible and move all of Zack’s markers, as well as an gear, onto that other creature.

This card paints a scene FF fans are all too familiar with, a moment that has been reimagined again and again — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. But somehow it hits just as hard here, communicated completely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Card

A bit of context, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a confrontation with Sephiroth. Following years of imprisonment, the duo get away. The entire time, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack makes sure to protect his friend. They eventually arrive at the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is killed by Shinra soldiers. Presumed dead, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the role of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Moment on the Battlefield

In a game, the abilities effectively let you recreate this whole event. The Buster Sword is a a top-tier piece of gear in the set that requires three mana and gives the wielding creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can turn Zack into a solid 4/6 with the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud Strife card also has deliberate interaction with the Buster Sword, enabling you to find for an weapon card. When used in tandem, these three cards unfold like this: You play Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.

Because of the manner Zack’s signature action is designed, you can potentially use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “block” an attack and trigger it to prevent the damage altogether. So you can make this play at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a powerful 6/4 that, whenever he does damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two cards at no cost. This is exactly the kind of moment meant when discussing “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the mechanics trigger the recollection.

Extending Past the Main Synergy

And the narrative here is oh-so-delicious, and it reaches past just this combo. The Jenova card 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 then becomes a Mutant. This sort of implies that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER enhancement he received, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle nod, but one that implicitly connects the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the set.

This design doesn't show his death, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the rain-soaked bluff where it happens. It doesn't have to. *Magic* enables you to recreate the passing personally. You make the ultimate play. You transfer the sword on. And for a fleeting moment, while playing a card battle, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the franchise ever made.