🔗 Share this article

A significant part of the charm found in the *Final Fantasy* crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* lies in the manner numerous cards depict familiar tales. Consider Tidus, Blitzball Star, which gives a snapshot of the hero at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose key technique is a fancy shot that takes a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules reflect this with subtlety. This type of flavor is found across the entire Final Fantasy offering, and some are not fun and games. A number are heartbreaking echoes of sad moments fans still mull over decades later.

"Emotional tales are a key component of the Final Fantasy legacy," noted a lead game designer for the collaboration. "The team established some overarching principles, but ultimately, it was largely on a card-by-card level."

Even though the Zack Fair card is not a top-tier card, it is one of the collection's most clever pieces of flavor by way of gameplay. It masterfully reflects one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important cinematic moments brilliantly, all while capitalizing on some of the expansion's central gameplay elements. And although it avoids revealing anything, those familiar with the saga will instantly understand the significance behind it.

The Card's Design: Flavor in Rules

At a cost of one white mana (the color of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair has a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 marker. By paying one colorless mana, you can destroy the card to give another unit you control protection from destruction and put all of Zack’s counters, plus an gear, onto that other creature.

These mechanics portrays a moment FF fans are extremely know well, a moment that has been reimagined throughout the years — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even new retellings in *FF7 Remake*. Yet it hits with equal force here, communicated entirely through gameplay mechanics. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.

A Spoiler for the Scene

A bit of backstory, and consider this your *FF7* warning: Years before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are severely injured after a battle with Sephiroth. After extended experimentation, the friends get away. During their ordeal, Cloud is barely conscious, but Zack vows to take care of his companion. They finally reach the plains outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by Shinra soldiers. Presumed dead, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the role of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Reenacting the Legacy on the Game Board

On the tabletop, the card mechanics effectively let you reenact this entire sequence. The Buster Sword is featured as a strong piece of equipment in the collection that costs three mana and gives the equipped creature +3/+2. Therefore, using six mana, you can transform Zack into a formidable 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.

The Cloud Strife card also has clear synergy with the Buster Sword, enabling you to find for an equipment card. In combination, these three cards function in this way: You cast 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.

Owing to the manner Zack’s signature action is designed, you can potentially use it when blocking, meaning you can “intercept” an assault and activate it to prevent the damage entirely. So you can perform this action at a key moment, transferring the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a powerful 6/4 that, whenever he strikes a player, lets you gain card advantage and cast two cards without paying their mana cost. This is just the kind of experience alluded to when discussing “flavorful design” — not revealing the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.

Extending Past the Obvious Interaction

And the flavor here is oh-so-delicious, and it extends past just these cards. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity appears in the collection as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which then becomes a Mutant. This in a way suggests that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, figuratively, the SOLDIER treatment he underwent, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. It's a tiny connection, but one that implicitly connects the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.

Zack’s card doesn't show his demise, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the stormy cliff where it all ends. It isn't necessary. *Magic* enables you to relive the moment for yourself. You perform the ultimate play. You transfer the legacy on. And for a brief second, while playing a trading card game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most beloved game in the franchise ever made.