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A core element of the allure within the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the fashion countless cards narrate well-known stories. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which gives a glimpse of the protagonist at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose secret weapon is a specialized shot that takes a defender out of the way. The card's mechanics represent this perfectly. Such flavor is widespread in the entire Final Fantasy set, and some are not lighthearted tales. Some act as poignant echoes of emotional events fans remember vividly to this day.

"Powerful stories are a central component of the Final Fantasy series," explained a senior game designer on the set. "They created some general rules, but finally, it was mostly on a card-by-card basis."

Though the Zack Fair isn't a top-tier card, it stands as one of the collection's most refined instances of narrative design via mechanics. It skillfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial cinematic moments in spectacular fashion, all while leveraging some of the set's central systems. And while it steers clear of spoiling anything, those acquainted with the saga will quickly recognize the emotional weight embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the alignment of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair has a starting stat line of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 token. By paying one generic mana, you can sacrifice the card to give another ally you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s counters, along with an artifact weapon, onto that chosen creature.

This card portrays a moment FF fans are all too know well, a moment that has been revisited throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline iterations in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it hits just as hard here, expressed solely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Card

A bit of backstory, and consider this your *FF7* spoiler alert: Before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a clash with Sephiroth. After years of testing, the duo manage to escape. Throughout this period, Cloud is comatose, but Zack makes sure to protect his comrade. They eventually make it the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by Shinra soldiers. Presumed dead, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the role of a first-class SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Moment on the Tabletop

On the tabletop, the rules effectively let you recreate this entire 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. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can turn Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear combo potential with the Buster Sword, letting you to look through your library for an artifact card. In combination, these pieces play out in this way: You play Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Owing to the design Zack’s key mechanic is structured, you can technically use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to cancel out the attack entirely. This allows you to do this at any time, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a strong 6/4 that, every time he strikes a player, lets you draw two cards and play two cards without paying their mana cost. This is precisely the kind of experience meant when talking about “emotional resonance” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the mechanics make you remember.

More Than the Main Combo

However, the narrative here is deeply satisfying, and it reaches past just this combo. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity 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 additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This kind of hints that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a small connection, but one that implicitly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the set.

The card avoids showing his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the memorable bluff where it happens. It isn't necessary. *Magic* allows you to recreate the moment for yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You pass the legacy on. And for a fleeting moment, while playing a card battle, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most beloved game in the saga to date.