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A significant aspect of the charm within the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond set for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the manner so many cards depict well-known tales. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which offers a portrait of the hero at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose key technique is a fancy shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The card's mechanics reflect this perfectly. These kinds of storytelling is widespread in the whole Final Fantasy offering, and some are not joyful stories. A number serve as somber reminders of emotional events fans continue to reflect on years after.

"Emotional tales are a vital part of the Final Fantasy franchise," noted a lead game designer involved with the set. "They created some broad guidelines, but ultimately, it was mostly on a individual level."

Though the Zack Fair may not be a top-tier card, it represents one of the set's most clever pieces of narrative design by way of gameplay. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial dramatic moments in spectacular fashion, all while capitalizing on some of the expansion's key mechanics. And even if it avoids revealing 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 white mana (the hue of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair enters with a base power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 token. By spending one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to bestow another ally you control protection from destruction and move all of Zack’s counters, along with an artifact weapon, onto that other creature.

This design depicts a scene FF fans are extremely familiar with, a moment that has been reimagined multiple times — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. But somehow it lands with equal force here, communicated entirely through gameplay mechanics. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Moment

Some necessary history, and take this as your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a confrontation with Sephiroth. After extended experimentation, the duo break free. During their ordeal, Cloud is delirious, but Zack vows to protect his friend. They eventually arrive at the edge outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by forces. Left behind, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the persona of a elite SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Battlefield

Through gameplay, the card mechanics in essence let you reenact this whole scene. The Buster Sword is featured as a strong piece of equipment in the set that requires three mana and gives the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has deliberate synergy with the Buster Sword, allowing you to search your deck for an artifact card. When used in tandem, these three cards function like this: You summon Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Due to the way Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can technically use it when blocking, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and activate it to prevent the attack altogether. So you can do this at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a strong 6/4 that, each time he deals combat damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two cards for free. This is exactly the kind of interaction referred to when talking about “emotional resonance” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

Beyond the Main Combo

However, the flavor here is oh-so-delicious, and it goes past just this combo. The Jenova card is part of the set 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 implies that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included modification with Jenova cells. It's a tiny reference, but one that subtly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the set.

Zack’s card avoids showing his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy cliff where it happens. It doesn't have to. *Magic* enables you to recreate the legacy for yourself. You perform the sacrifice. You transfer the legacy on. And for a short instant, while engaged in a strategy game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.