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A core part of the allure of the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* is the way countless cards depict iconic tales. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a portrait of the protagonist at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose secret weapon is a specialized shot that takes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules reflect this with subtlety. Such narrative is found throughout the entire Final Fantasy set, and some are not fun and games. A number act as somber echoes of emotional events fans remember vividly decades later.

"Moving tales are a vital component of the Final Fantasy legacy," wrote a senior designer on the project. "We built some overarching principles, but finally, it was primarily on a individual level."

While the Zack Fair is not a tournament staple, it stands as one of the collection's most elegant pieces of narrative design through rules. It artfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important dramatic moments brilliantly, all while leveraging some of the product's key systems. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those familiar with the saga will quickly recognize the meaning embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the hue of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair is a starting stat line of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 counter. By paying one colorless mana, you can remove from play the card to give another unit you control protection from destruction and transfer all of Zack’s bonuses, plus an gear, onto that chosen creature.

These mechanics paints a sequence FF fans are all too familiar with, a moment that has been reimagined again and again — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it resonates just as hard here, communicated solely through rules text. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Scene

A bit of history, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of imprisonment, the friends manage to escape. The entire time, Cloud is comatose, but Zack ensures to protect his friend. They eventually reach the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and assumes the identity of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Moment on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the rules in essence let you recreate this whole scene. The Buster Sword is featured as a strong piece of armament in the collection that requires three mana and grants the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can transform Zack into a respectable 4/6 with the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear interaction with the Buster Sword, allowing you to search your deck for an artifact card. When used in tandem, these pieces unfold in this way: You summon Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.

Because of the way Zack’s signature action is designed, you can technically use it when blocking, meaning you can “block” an assault and activate it to cancel out the attack entirely. So you can do this at a key moment, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a formidable 6/4 that, each time he does damage a player, lets you draw two cards and play two spells at no cost. This is just the kind of interaction referred to when talking about “narrative impact” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design make you remember.

More Than the Main Interaction

But the narrative here is deeply satisfying, and it goes past just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity appears in 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 hints that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a small nod, but one that implicitly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the set.

The card does not depict his death, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy cliff where it happens. It isn't necessary. *Magic* allows you to recreate the legacy yourself. You make the ultimate play. You transfer the sword on. And for a fleeting moment, while enjoying a card battle, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the franchise to date.