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A significant part of the charm within the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the way numerous cards tell iconic narratives. Cards like Tidus, Blitzball Star, which gives a glimpse of the hero at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a celebrated professional athlete whose key technique is a specialized shot that pushes a defender aside. The card's mechanics mirror this perfectly. These kinds of flavor is found throughout the whole Final Fantasy set, and not all joyful stories. Some act as heartbreaking echoes of emotional events fans still mull over years after.

"Moving tales are a central part of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a senior game designer for the set. "The team established some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a card-by-card basis."

While the Zack Fair isn't a top-tier card, it represents one of the collection's most elegant pieces of narrative design by way of rules. It skillfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial story moments with great effect, all while leveraging some of the product's core mechanics. And although it avoids revealing anything, those who know the tale will quickly recognize the meaning behind it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one mana of white (the color of protagonists) in this collection, Zack Fair has a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 token. By paying one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to bestow another creature you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s counters, as well as an Equipment, onto that target creature.

This card depicts a moment FF fans are very familiar with, a moment that has been reimagined again and again — in the first *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it lands powerfully here, communicated completely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Moment

Some necessary context, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Years before the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a clash with Sephiroth. Following extended imprisonment, the pair get away. During their ordeal, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack makes sure to look after his friend. They finally arrive at the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Abandoned, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the persona of a first-class SOLDIER, setting the stage for the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Battlefield

In a game, the card mechanics effectively let you relive this whole sequence. The Buster Sword appears as a top-tier piece of gear in the set that requires three mana and provides the equipped creature +3/+2. So, for a total of six mana, you can make Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword attached.

The Cloud Strife card also has deliberate synergy with the Buster Sword, enabling you to look through your library for an weapon card. When used in tandem, these pieces function as follows: You cast Zack, and he gains the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.

Owing to the design Zack’s signature action is structured, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and trigger it to prevent the damage altogether. Therefore, you can make this play at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a strong 6/4 that, each time he deals combat damage a player, lets you draw two cards and play two cards for free. This is precisely the kind of moment meant when talking about “flavorful design” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Central Combo

However, the thematic here is deeply satisfying, and it extends further than just these cards. The Jenova card appears in the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, places a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which then becomes a Mutant. This kind of hints that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle connection, but one that implicitly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.

Zack’s card doesn't show his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the stormy bluff where it concludes. It isn't necessary. *Magic* allows you to recreate the moment for yourself. You make the ultimate play. You pass the legacy on. And for a short instant, while engaged in a trading card game, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most influential game in the franchise ever made.