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A core aspect of the allure within the *Final Fantasy* Universes Beyond set for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the way countless cards tell familiar stories. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a snapshot of the character at the beginning of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose signature move is a unique shot that takes a defender aside. The abilities mirror this perfectly. These kinds of storytelling is found in the whole Final Fantasy offering, and not all lighthearted tales. Several are somber echoes of emotional events fans still mull over years after.

"Powerful narratives are a key component of the Final Fantasy series," wrote a lead designer on the project. "The team established some overarching principles, but in the end, it was largely on a individual basis."

Though the Zack Fair card is not a top-tier card, it is one of the collection's most clever examples of narrative design by way of rules. It skillfully captures one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important cinematic moments in spectacular fashion, all while leveraging some of the product's key mechanics. And although it doesn't spoil anything, those who know the saga will quickly recognize the meaning embedded in it.

The Mechanics: Story Through Gameplay

For one white mana (the hue of heroes) in this collection, Zack Fair enters with a base power and toughness of 0/1 but comes into play with a +1/+1 marker. For the cost of one generic mana, you can remove from play the card to give another unit you control indestructible and put all of Zack’s bonuses, plus an gear, onto that other creature.

This card depicts a moment FF fans are all too remember, a moment that has been reimagined multiple times — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits just as hard here, communicated solely through card abilities. Zack gives his life to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.

The Context of the Scene

Some necessary backstory, and here is your *FF7* spoiler alert: Before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a clash with Sephiroth. After years of experimentation, the pair manage to escape. Throughout this period, Cloud is comatose, but Zack vows to protect his companion. They eventually reach the edge outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by forces. Left behind, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the persona of a first-class SOLDIER, leading directly into the start of *FF7*.

Playing Out the Passing of the Torch on the Battlefield

In a game, the abilities effectively let you reenact this entire event. The Buster Sword is featured as a strong piece of gear in the set that requires three mana and provides the wielding creature +3/+2. So, for a total 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, enabling you to look through your library for an equipment card. Together, these pieces function as follows: You cast Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you cast Cloud to retrieve the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.

Due to the way Zack’s sacrifice ability is designed, you can potentially use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “block” an attack and trigger it to prevent the attack entirely. Therefore, you can do this at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He is transformed into a strong 6/4 that, whenever he does damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and cast two cards at no cost. This is exactly the kind of moment alluded to when discussing “narrative impact” — not revealing the scene, but letting the mechanics trigger the recollection.

More Than the Obvious Combo

And the flavor here is deeply satisfying, and it reaches past just these cards. The Jenova, Ancient Calamity is part of the set 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 sort of hints that Zack’s starting +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER conditioning he underwent, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a tiny connection, but one that implicitly ties the whole SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter theme in the expansion.

This design avoids showing his end, or Cloud’s confusion, or the rain-soaked bluff where it all ends. It does not need to. *Magic* lets you relive the passing yourself. You perform the ultimate play. You pass the weapon on. And for a fleeting moment, while engaged in a strategy game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* is still the most impactful game in the franchise ever made.