A major element of the appeal found in the *Final Fantasy* crossover collection for *Magic: The Gathering* comes from the manner numerous cards tell familiar tales. Take for instance the Tidus, Blitzball Star card, which provides a portrait of the character at the very start of *Final Fantasy 10*: a wildly famous Blitzball pro whose signature move is a fancy shot that pushes a defender aside. The card's mechanics represent this in nuanced ways. These kinds of narrative is prevalent throughout the whole Final Fantasy offering, and they aren't all joyful stories. Several serve as somber reminders of tragedies fans remember vividly years after.
"Emotional tales are a key part of the Final Fantasy series," noted a principal game designer for the project. "We built some overarching principles, but in the end, it was primarily on a card-by-card level."
While the Zack Fair may not be a competitive powerhouse, it is one of the set's most elegant instances of storytelling through mechanics. It artfully echoes one of *Final Fantasy 7*'s most crucial dramatic moments brilliantly, all while capitalizing on some of the product's central systems. And although it steers clear of spoiling anything, those who know the saga will instantly understand the meaning behind it.
The Card's Design: Story Through Gameplay
At a cost of one white mana (the hue of good) in this set, Zack Fair enters with a starting power and toughness of 0/1 but arrives with a +1/+1 token. By spending one generic mana, you can remove from play the card to grant another ally you control indestructible and transfer all of Zack’s bonuses, as well as an artifact weapon, onto that other creature.
These mechanics paints a moment FF fans are all too know well, a moment that has been revisited again and again — in the classic *FF7*, *Crisis Core*, and even alternate-timeline iterations in *FF7 Remake*. And yet it resonates with equal force here, conveyed solely through gameplay mechanics. Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, who then picks up the Buster Sword as his own.
The Context of the Moment
Some necessary history, and here is your *FF7* warning: Before the main events of the game, Zack and Cloud are left for dead after a clash with Sephiroth. Following extended testing, the duo get away. The entire time, Cloud is delirious, but Zack makes sure to protect his friend. They finally reach the plains outside Midgar before Zack is gunned down by troops. Abandoned, Cloud in that moment claims Zack’s Buster Sword and takes on the role of a first-class SOLDIER, which leads right into the start of *FF7*.
Playing Out the Passing of the Torch on the Game Board
In a game, the card mechanics effectively let you recreate this iconic event. The Buster Sword is featured as a top-tier piece of equipment in the collection that requires three mana and gives the wielding creature +3/+2. Thus, with an investment of six mana, you can transform Zack into a solid 4/6 while the Buster Sword equipped.
The Cloud Strife card also has deliberate combo potential with the Buster Sword, allowing you to search your deck for an artifact card. In combination, these three cards play out in this way: You play Zack, and he gets the +1/+1 counter. Then you play Cloud to fetch the Buster Sword out of your deck. Then you summon and give it to Zack.
Owing to the design Zack’s sacrifice ability is worded, you can potentially use it during combat, meaning you can “block” an assault and activate it to prevent the attack completely. So you can perform this action at any time, moving the +1/+1 counter *and* the Buster Sword to Cloud. He then becomes a formidable 6/4 that, whenever he does damage a player, lets you pull extra cards and play two cards at no cost. This is just the kind of interaction alluded to when discussing “narrative impact” — not explaining the scene, but letting the card design evoke the memory.
Extending Past the Main Interaction
However, the narrative here is oh-so-delicious, and it reaches beyond just these cards. The Jenova card appears in the set as a creature that, at the start of combat, puts a number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature, which also becomes a Mutant. This in a way implies that Zack’s initial +1/+1 token is, in a way, the SOLDIER treatment he received, which included genetic manipulation with Jenova cells. This is a subtle reference, but one that implicitly ties the entire SOLDIER program to the +1/+1 counter mechanic in the expansion.
Zack’s card does not depict his end, or Cloud’s breakdown, or the stormy location where it all ends. It isn't necessary. *Magic* lets you relive the passing personally. You make the sacrifice. You hand over the weapon on. And for a brief second, while engaged in a card battle, you are reminded of why *Final Fantasy 7* continues to be the most influential game in the franchise for many fans.
