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A significant part of the allure found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* is the manner numerous cards tell familiar stories. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a glimpse of the character at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose secret weapon is a fancy shot that knocks a defender aside. The abilities represent this with subtlety. This type of storytelling is widespread in the whole Final Fantasy set, and some are not joyful stories. A number act as poignant callbacks of emotional events fans remember vividly to this day.

"Moving tales are a central element of the Final Fantasy legacy," explained a lead game designer on the set. "We built some general rules, but ultimately, it was largely on a card-by-card basis."

Though the Zack Fair card is not a tournament staple, it is one of the release's most clever instances of storytelling through rules. It skillfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important cinematic moments brilliantly, all while capitalizing on some of the set's central mechanics. And although it steers clear of spoiling anything, those who know the story will instantly understand the significance embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one white mana (the color of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair has a base power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 token. By spending one generic mana, you can sacrifice the card to bestow another unit you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s counters, as well as an artifact weapon, onto that chosen creature.

These mechanics portrays a moment FF fans are very remember, a moment that has been retold again and again — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands just as hard here, conveyed completely through card abilities. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Scene

For history, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Prior to the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a clash with Sephiroth. Following extended imprisonment, the friends break free. Throughout this period, Cloud is delirious, but Zack makes sure to look after his comrade. They finally arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by troops. Presumed dead, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the persona of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Legacy on the Game Board

On the tabletop, the abilities essentially let you reenact this iconic event. The Buster Sword appears as a powerful piece of equipment in the collection that requires three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can turn Zack into a respectable 4/6 while the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud Strife card also has intentional interaction with the Buster Sword, enabling you to find for an artifact card. Together, these pieces unfold in this way: You play Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Because of the manner Zack’s signature action is structured, you can actually use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and trigger it to cancel out the attack altogether. This allows you to make this play at a key moment, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a strong 6/4 that, every time he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and play two cards for free. This is just the kind of experience alluded to when discussing “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the gameplay evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Obvious Interaction

And the thematic here is oh-so-delicious, and it goes past just Zack and Cloud. 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 implies that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER treatment he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a tiny reference, but one that implicitly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.

This design doesn't show his death, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the stormy bluff where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* allows you to recreate the passing yourself. You make the ultimate play. You pass the sword on. And for a fleeting moment, while engaged in a trading card game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most impactful game in the franchise to date.