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A significant element of the allure found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* is the fashion countless cards tell familiar stories. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a snapshot of the protagonist at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose signature move is a specialized shot that takes a defender aside. The abilities mirror this with subtlety. This type of narrative is found in the complete Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all fun and games. Some act as poignant echoes of tragedies fans still mull over years after.

"Powerful tales are a central component of the Final Fantasy franchise," wrote a lead game designer on the project. "The team established some general rules, but in the end, it was mostly on a individual basis."

Even though the Zack Fair is not a competitive powerhouse, it is one of the release's most elegant instances of flavor by way of gameplay. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal cinematic moments brilliantly, all while capitalizing on some of the set's central gameplay elements. And while it doesn't spoil anything, those familiar with the story will immediately grasp the emotional weight embedded in it.

The Mechanics: A Narrative in Play

At a cost of one white mana (the hue of good) in this collection, Zack Fair is a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 marker. By spending one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to give another unit you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s markers, along with an Equipment, onto that chosen creature.

This design depicts a sequence FF fans are extremely remember, a moment that has been revisited again and again — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it resonates just as hard here, expressed completely through rules text. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Moment

Some necessary backstory, and consider this your *FF7* spoiler alert: Prior to the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a clash with Sephiroth. After extended testing, the duo manage to escape. The entire time, Cloud is comatose, but Zack makes sure to protect his companion. They finally reach the edge outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Abandoned, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the identity of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Moment on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the card mechanics in essence let you recreate this entire scene. The Buster Sword appears as a powerful piece of equipment in the set that costs three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a formidable 4/6 with the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear synergy with the Buster Sword, allowing you to search your deck for an equipment card. Together, these three cards play out as follows: You play Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Due to the way Zack’s signature action is designed, you can actually use it when blocking, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to negate the damage altogether. Therefore, you can perform this action at a key moment, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a strong 6/4 that, each time he deals combat damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and cast two cards at no cost. This is just the kind of moment alluded to when discussing “flavorful design” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

More Than the Main Synergy

But the narrative here is incredibly rich, and it goes further than just this combo. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of the set 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 suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER conditioning he received, which included modification with Jenova cells. It's a tiny connection, but one that subtly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.

The card does not depict his death, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy cliff where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* enables you to recreate the legacy for yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You transfer the weapon on. And for a short instant, while playing a strategy game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most impactful game in the saga to date.