The Zack Fair Card Illustrates How Magic: The Gathering's Universes Beyond Can Tell Emotional Narratives.

A major element of the charm found in the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* is the manner so many cards depict familiar tales. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a portrait of the hero at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous Blitzball pro whose secret weapon is a specialized shot that pushes a defender aside. The card's mechanics represent this with subtlety. Such flavor is widespread in the entire Final Fantasy offering, and some are not lighthearted tales. Some are somber echoes of tragedies fans still mull over decades later.

"Powerful stories are a vital part of the Final Fantasy franchise," noted a principal game designer on the collaboration. "We built some general rules, but in the end, it was mostly on a card-by-card basis."

While the Zack Fair isn't a tournament staple, it is one of the set's most refined instances of storytelling by way of rules. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal story moments in spectacular fashion, all while capitalizing on some of the set's central gameplay elements. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those who know the saga will instantly understand the significance embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay

At a cost of one mana of white (the alignment of good) in this collection, Zack Fair enters with a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 counter. By paying one colorless mana, you can remove from play the card to grant another creature you control protection from destruction and transfer all of Zack’s markers, as well as an gear, onto that chosen creature.

This card depicts a scene FF fans are extremely familiar with, a moment that has been retold multiple times — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined versions in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands with equal force here, conveyed completely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

For history, and here is your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a clash with Sephiroth. After extended testing, the pair break free. Throughout this period, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack ensures to look after his companion. They finally make it the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by Shinra soldiers. Presumed dead, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the identity of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Moment on the Game Board

Through gameplay, the abilities essentially let you relive this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is featured as a top-tier piece of equipment in the set that costs three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can transform Zack into a solid 4/6 with the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has deliberate combo potential with the Buster Sword, enabling you to search your deck for an artifact card. In combination, these pieces unfold in this way: You summon Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Due to the manner Zack’s signature action is worded, you can potentially use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and activate it to cancel out the damage altogether. Therefore, you can perform this action at any time, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a powerful 6/4 that, whenever he deals combat damage a player, lets you gain card advantage and cast two cards without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of experience referred to when talking about “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the mechanics trigger the recollection.

Beyond the Obvious Combo

And the narrative here is oh-so-delicious, and it extends beyond just these cards. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which also becomes a Mutant. This in a way hints that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER enhancement he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. It's a subtle nod, but one that implicitly links the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the expansion.

Zack’s card doesn't show his death, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy bluff where it happens. It does not need to. *Magic* lets you reenact the passing yourself. You make the ultimate play. You hand over the legacy on. And for a brief second, while engaged in a strategy game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the saga to date.