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A major part of the allure found in the Final Fantasy crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the fashion countless cards tell well-known tales. Take for instance Tidus, Blitzball Star, which provides a portrait of the protagonist at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose signature move is a fancy shot that pushes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules reflect this with subtlety. This type of narrative is prevalent across the complete Final Fantasy offering, and not all joyful stories. A number are somber reminders of emotional events fans still mull over to this day.

"Emotional narratives are a vital component of the Final Fantasy legacy," wrote a senior designer involved with the project. "We built some general rules, but ultimately, it was mostly on a individual level."

Even though the Zack Fair card isn't a top-tier card, it is one of the set's most clever instances of narrative design by way of gameplay. It artfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial dramatic moments in spectacular fashion, all while utilizing some of the set's key systems. And even if it avoids revealing anything, those who know the tale will quickly recognize the meaning embedded in it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

For one mana of white (the hue of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair is a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but enters with a +1/+1 marker. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to bestow another unit you control indestructible and put all of Zack’s counters, as well as an artifact weapon, onto that other creature.

These mechanics depicts a sequence FF fans are extremely remember, a moment that has been revisited throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits with equal force here, expressed entirely through card abilities. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then takes up the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Card

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 confrontation with Sephiroth. Following years of imprisonment, the pair manage to escape. During their ordeal, Cloud is delirious, but Zack vows to look after his companion. They eventually make it the outskirts outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by forces. Left behind, Cloud then takes up Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the identity of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Simulating the Passing of the Torch on the Battlefield

On the tabletop, the abilities effectively let you recreate this entire scene. The Buster Sword is a a top-tier piece of gear in the collection that costs three mana and gives the equipped creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a respectable 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has intentional interaction with the Buster Sword, allowing you to look through your library for an equipment card. When used in tandem, these pieces play out as follows: You cast Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to pull the Buster Sword from your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Because of the manner Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can technically use it when blocking, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to prevent the attack entirely. So you can make this play at a key moment, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a powerful 6/4 that, every time he strikes a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two spells for free. This is exactly the kind of interaction referred to when discussing “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the mechanics evoke the memory.

Beyond the Main Interaction

However, the narrative here is incredibly rich, and it goes further than 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 chosen creature, which then becomes a Mutant. This in a way suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER conditioning he received, which included experimentation with Jenova cells. It's a subtle reference, but one that subtly links the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.

This design avoids showing his demise, or Cloud’s confusion, or the stormy cliff where it all ends. It isn't necessary. *Magic* allows you to recreate the passing for yourself. You make the ultimate play. You hand over the sword on. And for a brief second, while enjoying a card battle, you recall why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most influential game in the saga to date.