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A major element of the allure found in the Final Fantasy crossover set for *Magic: The Gathering* is the manner so many cards depict well-known tales. Take for instance Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a portrait of the hero at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose secret weapon is a fancy shot that takes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules represent this in nuanced ways. This type of narrative is found in the complete Final Fantasy set, and they aren't all joyful stories. Several act as heartbreaking callbacks of tragedies fans remember vividly decades later.

"Moving narratives are a central component of the Final Fantasy legacy," explained a senior game designer involved with the set. "They created some overarching principles, but finally, it was mostly on a case-by-case level."

While the Zack Fair isn't a competitive powerhouse, it is one of the release's most clever examples of storytelling by way of rules. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important cinematic moments with great effect, all while capitalizing on some of the set's key mechanics. And while it avoids revealing anything, those familiar with the story will immediately grasp the significance behind it.

The Card's Design: A Narrative in Play

For one white mana (the hue of good) in this set, Zack Fair has a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 counter. By spending one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to grant another ally you control protection from destruction and move all of Zack’s markers, along with an Equipment, onto that other creature.

This card depicts a scene FF fans are very familiar with, a moment that has been retold again and again — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it resonates with equal force here, conveyed entirely through gameplay mechanics. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Scene

Some necessary backstory, and here is your *FF7* warning: Before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of imprisonment, the pair break free. The entire time, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack makes sure to look after his comrade. They eventually reach the edge outside Midgar before Zack is killed by forces. Left behind, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the persona of a elite SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Passing of the Torch on the Tabletop

In a game, the card mechanics essentially let you relive this iconic sequence. The Buster Sword is a a strong piece of armament in the set that requires three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can turn Zack into a respectable 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear synergy with the Buster Sword, allowing you to find for an artifact card. Together, these pieces function as follows: You cast Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Owing to the manner Zack’s sacrifice ability is structured, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and activate it to cancel out the attack entirely. Therefore, you can perform this action at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a formidable 6/4 that, every 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 referred to when talking about “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.

More Than the Central Synergy

And the thematic here is oh-so-delicious, and it extends further than just these cards. The Jenova card appears in the collection 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 kind of hints 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 small nod, but one that subtly connects the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the set.

The card doesn't show his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy bluff where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* allows you to recreate the passing personally. You perform the sacrifice. You transfer the sword on. And for a fleeting moment, while playing a trading card game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the franchise for many fans.