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A significant element of the charm found in the *Final Fantasy* crossover set for *Magic: The Gathering* is the manner so many cards tell iconic narratives. Cards like the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which gives a glimpse of the hero at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose key technique is a fancy shot that takes a defender aside. The abilities mirror this with subtlety. These kinds of narrative is found across the entire Final Fantasy offering, and some are not fun and games. A number serve as poignant echoes of emotional events fans remember vividly to this day.

"Powerful tales are a vital component of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a senior designer on the project. "They created some general rules, but in the end, it was largely on a case-by-case basis."

While the Zack Fair may not be a tournament staple, it stands as one of the release's most elegant examples of storytelling via mechanics. It artfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most pivotal cinematic moments with great effect, all while leveraging some of the product's central systems. And while it steers clear of spoiling anything, those who know the tale will instantly understand the significance within 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 comes into play with a +1/+1 marker. By paying one colorless mana, you can sacrifice the card to give another unit you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s counters, as well as an gear, onto that chosen creature.

This card portrays a scene FF fans are all too remember, a moment that has been reimagined multiple times — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits powerfully here, expressed entirely through rules text. Zack makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Story Behind the Moment

For context, and here is your *FF7* spoiler alert: Prior to the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a clash with Sephiroth. Following years of experimentation, the friends get away. During their ordeal, Cloud is delirious, but Zack makes sure to protect his companion. They finally arrive at the plains outside Midgar before Zack is fatally wounded by forces. Left behind, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the identity of a elite SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Passing of the Torch on the Battlefield

In a game, the rules essentially let you relive this iconic event. The Buster Sword is featured as a powerful piece of equipment in the set 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 attached.

The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has intentional interaction with the Buster Sword, letting you to search your deck for an weapon card. Together, these pieces play out in this way: You play Zack, and he receives the +1/+1 counter. Then you summon Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.

Because of the manner Zack’s key mechanic is worded, you can potentially use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “intercept” an attack and activate it to cancel out the attack entirely. This allows you to perform this action at a key moment, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a powerful 6/4 that, every time he does damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two spells at no cost. This is just the kind of interaction alluded to when talking about “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design make you remember.

Extending Past the Central Combo

However, the flavor here is deeply satisfying, and it goes beyond just these cards. The Jenova card is part of the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This sort of suggests that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER enhancement he received, which included modification with Jenova cells. It's a subtle connection, but one that subtly connects the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the expansion.

The card avoids showing his death, or Cloud’s confusion, or the rain-soaked location where it concludes. It doesn't have to. *Magic* lets you recreate the legacy personally. You perform the sacrifice. You pass the legacy on. And for a short instant, while engaged in a card battle, you remember why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the series to date.