The Zack Fair Card Illustrates That Magic: The Gathering's Crossover Sets Can Tell Powerful Stories.
A significant aspect of the appeal found in the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond release for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the manner numerous cards depict well-known stories. Consider the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which offers a portrait of the character at the outset of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous professional athlete whose key technique is a fancy shot that knocks a defender out of the way. The gameplay rules reflect this with subtlety. These kinds of flavor is found across the complete Final Fantasy set, and some are not lighthearted tales. Several serve as somber callbacks of tragedies fans remember vividly to this day.
"Moving narratives are a central component of the Final Fantasy legacy," noted a principal designer involved with the collaboration. "We built some broad guidelines, but in the end, it was largely on a card-by-card level."
Even though the Zack Fair isn't a competitive powerhouse, it stands as one of the release's most clever pieces of storytelling by way of mechanics. It masterfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most important cinematic moments in spectacular fashion, all while leveraging some of the expansion's core mechanics. And while it avoids revealing anything, those acquainted with the tale will instantly understand the meaning within it.
The Card's Design: Story Through Gameplay
At a cost of one mana of white (the hue of protagonists) in this set, Zack Fair has a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 token. For the cost of one colorless mana, you can remove from play the card to grant another unit you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s markers, as well as an artifact weapon, onto that target creature.
These mechanics portrays a sequence FF fans are very remember, a moment that has been retold multiple times — in the original *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even reimagined retellings in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it hits powerfully here, communicated solely through gameplay mechanics. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then inherits the Buster Sword as his own.
A Spoiler for the Moment
A bit of history, and take this as your *FF7* warning: Prior to the primary events of the game, Zack and Cloud are gravely wounded after a battle with Sephiroth. Following years of experimentation, the pair break free. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack ensures to protect his friend. They eventually make it the plains outside Midgar before Zack is killed by Shinra soldiers. Left behind, Cloud subsequently grabs Zack’s Buster Sword and adopts the persona of a elite SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.
Simulating the Passing of the Torch on the Battlefield
On the tabletop, the card mechanics essentially let you relive this whole scene. The Buster Sword is a a powerful piece of armament in the set that costs three mana and grants the wielding creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can make Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword attached.
The Cloud, Midgar Mercenary also has intentional combo potential with the Buster Sword, letting you to search your deck for an artifact card. In combination, these three cards play out like this: You cast Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to pull the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you play and equip it to Zack.
Because of the manner Zack’s key mechanic is designed, you can potentially use it in the middle of battle, meaning you can “block” an attack and activate it to cancel out the damage entirely. This allows you to make this play at any time, passing the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He subsequently becomes a formidable 6/4 that, each time he does damage a player, lets you draw two cards and play two spells for free. This is just the kind of experience meant when discussing “emotional resonance” — not spoiling the scene, but letting the gameplay make you remember.
More Than the Obvious Synergy
However, the flavor here is deeply satisfying, and it reaches further than just Zack and Cloud. The Jenova card is part of the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a chosen creature, which additionally gains the type of a Mutant. This kind of hints that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, symbolically, the SOLDIER enhancement he received, which included modification with Jenova cells. This is a subtle connection, but one that cleverly links the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter ecosystem in the set.
Zack’s card avoids showing his demise, or Cloud’s trauma, or the memorable location where it concludes. It does not need to. *Magic* allows you to relive the moment for yourself. You choose the sacrifice. You pass the weapon on. And for a fleeting moment, while playing a strategy game, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* remains the most impactful game in the series ever made.
