A major element of the allure within the *Final Fantasy* crossover release for *Magic: The Gathering* is the way so many cards depict iconic tales. Take for instance Tidus, Blitzball Star, which provides a snapshot of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated Blitzball pro whose key technique is a unique shot that knocks a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules represent this with subtlety. This type of storytelling is prevalent throughout the entire Final Fantasy offering, and not all lighthearted tales. A number serve as poignant callbacks of tragedies fans remember vividly decades later.
"Powerful stories are a vital part of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a principal game designer on the set. "The team established some overarching principles, but ultimately, it was largely on a individual level."
While the Zack Fair card is not a top-tier card, it stands as one of the set's most refined examples of narrative design via gameplay. It artfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial dramatic moments in spectacular fashion, all while leveraging some of the product's central mechanics. And although it steers clear of spoiling anything, those acquainted with the saga will immediately grasp the meaning embedded in it.
The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay
For one white mana (the alignment of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair enters with a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 marker. By spending one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to give another creature you control indestructible and put all of Zack’s bonuses, plus an artifact weapon, onto that target creature.
These mechanics portrays a sequence FF fans are all too familiar with, a moment that has been reimagined throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands with equal force here, communicated completely through gameplay mechanics. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.
A Spoiler for the Card
Some necessary history, and consider this your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a battle with Sephiroth. After years of imprisonment, the friends manage to escape. Throughout this period, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack ensures to protect his comrade. They eventually make it the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by Shinra soldiers. Abandoned, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the role of a first-class SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.
Playing Out the Legacy on the Battlefield
In a game, the rules essentially let you recreate this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of armament in the set that costs three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can transform Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.
The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has clear synergy with the Buster Sword, enabling you to look through your library for an weapon card. In combination, these pieces function in this way: You cast Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.
Owing to the design Zack’s key mechanic is worded, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to cancel out the damage altogether. So you can perform this action at a key moment, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a powerful 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two spells without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of experience meant when discussing “emotional resonance” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.
More Than the Obvious Synergy
However, the flavor here is incredibly rich, and it reaches further than just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova card 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 then becomes a Mutant. This sort of hints that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a tiny reference, but one that cleverly ties the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.
The card avoids showing his demise, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the rain-soaked bluff where it all ends. It isn't necessary. *Magic* enables you to reenact the moment yourself. You make the ultimate play. You transfer the sword on. And for a brief second, while engaged in a strategy game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.
