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A major element of the charm within the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond collection for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the way countless cards tell well-known tales. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a snapshot of the character at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose key technique is a specialized shot that takes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules mirror this with subtlety. This type of narrative is widespread throughout the entire Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all fun and games. A number act as somber echoes of emotional events fans continue to reflect on decades later.

"Emotional narratives are a central component of the Final Fantasy legacy," noted a lead game designer involved with the project. "The team established some broad guidelines, but in the end, it was primarily on a individual level."

Even though the Zack Fair is not a competitive powerhouse, it stands as one of the release's most elegant instances of flavor through rules. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal cinematic moments with great effect, all while capitalizing on some of the expansion's central systems. And while it doesn't spoil anything, those who know the saga will immediately grasp the significance embedded in it.

The Card's Design: Story Through Gameplay

At a cost of one white mana (the hue of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair enters with a base stat line of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 counter. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to bestow another creature you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s markers, along with an Equipment, onto that target creature.

This design paints a sequence FF fans are very know well, a moment that has been retold again and again — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined versions in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands powerfully here, communicated completely through rules text. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Card

A bit of context, and consider this your *FF7* spoiler alert: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a battle with Sephiroth. Following extended imprisonment, the pair break free. During their ordeal, Cloud is delirious, but Zack vows to protect his comrade. They finally arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by troops. Left behind, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the persona of a elite SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Legacy on the Game Board

In a game, the rules effectively let you recreate this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is a a top-tier piece of gear in the collection that costs three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can turn Zack into a solid 4/6 with the Buster Sword wielded.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear interaction with the Buster Sword, letting you to search your deck for an equipment card. In combination, these three cards function in this way: You summon Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you cast and attach it to Zack.

Because of the manner Zack’s signature action is designed, you can technically use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an assault and activate it to prevent the damage entirely. This allows you to do this at a key moment, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a powerful 6/4 that, every time he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and cast two spells without paying their mana cost. This is precisely the kind of moment referred to when discussing “flavorful design” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design trigger the recollection.

Beyond the Central Interaction

But the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it goes beyond 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 implies that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER treatment he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a small nod, but one that cleverly ties the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

Zack’s card doesn't show his death, or Cloud’s confusion, or the stormy bluff where it happens. It doesn't have to. *Magic* enables you to reenact the moment yourself. You choose the ultimate play. You hand over the legacy on. And for a short instant, while playing a strategy game, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the saga to date.