🔗 Share this article The Zack Fair Card Demonstrates That Magic's Crossover Sets Can Tell Emotional Stories. A core part of the charm of the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set for *Magic: The Gathering* is the fashion countless cards depict well-known stories. Consider Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a snapshot of the protagonist at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous sports star whose signature move is a specialized shot that pushes a defender aside. The abilities mirror this perfectly. This type of flavor is found in the whole Final Fantasy offering, and not all joyful stories. Several serve as heartbreaking callbacks of sad moments fans continue to reflect on to this day. "Powerful narratives are a key part of the Final Fantasy legacy," wrote a lead designer for the set. "We built some general rules, but in the end, it was mostly on a card-by-card level." While the Zack Fair card is not a competitive powerhouse, it stands as one of the release's most clever pieces of narrative design by way of gameplay. It masterfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important cinematic moments brilliantly, all while leveraging some of the set's key mechanics. And even if it avoids revealing anything, those familiar with the saga will instantly understand the emotional weight within it. How It Works: Story Through Gameplay For one mana of white (the color of protagonists) in this collection, Zack Fair is a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 marker. By paying one generic mana, you can remove from play the card to grant another creature you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s markers, as well as an gear, onto that chosen creature. This design depicts a sequence FF fans are very remember, a moment that has been retold throughout the years — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits with equal force here, conveyed completely through rules text. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own. A Spoiler for the Moment For backstory, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of testing, the pair get away. Throughout this period, Cloud is comatose, but Zack makes sure to take care of his comrade. They finally reach the edge outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the identity of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*. Simulating the Moment on the Tabletop Through gameplay, the abilities in essence let you relive this iconic event. The Buster Sword is featured as a top-tier piece of armament in the collection that costs three mana and gives the wielding creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can transform Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped. The Cloud Strife card also has clear synergy with the Buster Sword, allowing you to find for an equipment card. When used in tandem, these pieces play out as follows: You summon Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to pull the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack. Because of the way Zack’s sacrifice ability is worded, you can actually use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and trigger it to negate the attack altogether. Therefore, you can make this play at any time, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a formidable 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and cast two cards for free. This is exactly the kind of experience alluded to when talking about “emotional resonance” — not revealing the scene, but letting the gameplay make you remember. More Than the Main Synergy And the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it extends past 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 then becomes a Mutant. This kind of suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a tiny nod, but one that cleverly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set. The card avoids showing his end, or Cloud’s confusion, or the rain-soaked bluff where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* enables you to reenact the legacy personally. You choose the sacrifice. You hand over the legacy on. And for a short instant, while engaged in a trading card game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the franchise ever made.