Building a Zack Fair Commander Deck in MTG: Completing the Challenge

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Zack Fair, one of the enigmatic figures in *Final Fantasy 7*, accomplished everything Cloud Strife aspired to before bequeathing the renowned Buster Sword. In his debut within *Magic: The Gathering*, his goal remains unchanged: he is destined to perish, enabling someone else to take the lead.

Zack Fair’s knack for easily passing on counters and Equipment keeps opponents on their toes, often forcing them to devise strategies to counter your moves rather than advancing their own game plans. Just because he has a noble name doesn’t mean you have to play by the rules.

Sample Decklist

The Commander

At first glance, Zack Fair seems like more of a solid support card than a leading commander. He’s a 0/1 Human Soldier costing one white mana and enters with a +1/+1 counter. You can then sacrifice him to transfer his +1/+1 counter and one Equipment to another creature.

That’s pretty much his role: Zack has no built-in way to gain more counters, establish Equipment synergy, or evade attacks. Like in *Final Fantasy VII*, his primary purpose is to die and pass on his legacy to another character.

What elevates Zack Fair as a valuable commander is his identity within white mana. Although white might not excel at accruing counters (that’s generally the realm of green), reanimation (typically black), or equipment strategies without red, it does a commendable job at all three, allowing you to construct a powerful deck around Zack.

An essential aspect of Zack’s second ability is that it doesn’t require tapping. This allows him to attack or block and still pass on his counters and Equipment when an opponent tries to destroy or block him. If you team him up with an Equipment that accumulates counters over time, you can create a winning strategy.

Moreover, Zack’s ability is not restricted to the +1/+1 counter he initially receives. If you provide Zack with flying counters, trample counters, or other keyword counters, he can transfer those to another creature as well.

Building The Deck

While Zack Fair is designed to sacrifice himself to pass on counters, a single +1/+1 counter may not suffice to deal with the escalating commander tax in repeated cycles of casting and sacrificing him. However, you can amplify the benefits by accumulating additional counters and mitigate costs by sending him to the graveyard for reanimation.

Though he’s not positioned for a Voltron strategy due to a lack of evasion and supportive capabilities, you can still build up counters on Zack and then swing wide, sacrificing him to shift all his counters and crucial equipment to a selected creature that goes unblocked.

Once you send Zack to the graveyard instead of the command zone, reanimation effects like that of Sun Titan can bring him back onto the field or into your hand, allowing you to reinitiate the gameplay loop and continuously stack counters on your creatures.

It’s important to note that the game does not track individual counters, meaning that abilities like Zack Fair’s create new counters on the target instead of moving existing ones. If you have effects that retain counters even after a creature’s demise, this can lead to an increase in total counters upon Zack’s death, making his endgame both entertaining and advantageous.

Finally, be sure to include a mix of Equipment and ways to tutor or deploy them. Cloud, Midgar Mercenary, is a prime addition to this deck since he not only helps find Equipment but also serves as a host for Zack’s counters and Equipment.

Ramp

This deck features a low mana curve, with 55 out of the 66 cards at three mana or less. This largely alleviates the need for mana acceleration, yet having extra mana opens up more chances to attach Equipment and activate abilities.

Sword of the Animist and Land Tax are instrumental in getting additional lands onto the battlefield while also helping to thin your deck to expose more key cards for your strategy.

The Aetherspark is a fantastic Equipment for Zack, granting him +1/+1 counters each turn. If you successfully accumulate ten loyalty counters, you can remove them for a ten-mana gain. Typically, this isn’t necessary, but it can also provide card draws if you have a surplus of mana.

Draw

A low mana curve means you could easily deplete your hand unless you have several draw options.

Buster Sword is an extremely thematic draw option. When any creature equipped with it deals combat damage to a player, you get to draw a card. Additionally, you can cast a card from your hand for free, provided its mana value matches or is lower than the damage dealt. Given this deck’s mana curve, that will often encompass almost any spell!

Esper Sentinel serves as white’s counterpart to Rhystic Study. As your opponents cast spells, they trigger Esper Sentinel’s ability, granting you card draw unless they pay mana equal to her power. If she receives an Equipment or a few +1/+1 counters, your card draw increases, but it could also make her a target.

In a build that spreads +1/+1 counters, Dusk Legion Duelist becomes a solid draw engine. Every time you place a +1/+1 counter on it during a turn, you can draw a card, allowing it to grow while you fill your hand simultaneously.

Venat, Heart of Hydaelyn is a stellar choice as she provides early draw opportunities and later transitions into card draw, removal, and +1/+1 counters, synergizing excellently with your strategy.

Keeping Counters

It can be frustrating to consolidate all your counters on a single creature only to have it destroyed. Fortunately, several cards can help retain those counters, even post mortem.

The Ozolith is a key player in this capacity, as it stores counters from any creature that leaves the battlefield. At the beginning of your combat, you can shift those counters onto another creature of choice.

A similar effect is found with Reluctant Role Model, which directly moves counters onto another creature when one dies, generating +1/+1, lifelink, and flying counters. It also works in tandem with The Ozolith: if you sacrifice Zack with one +1/+1 counter, his effect sends one counter to Reluctant Role Model, The Ozolith retains the counter, and the latter’s effect also bestows an additional counter to itself.

Whereas Reluctant Role Model limits movement to between creatures, Resourceful Defense lets you transfer counters to any permanent. While this means you can store +1/+1 counters on a land after a board wipe, it also allows mobility of loyalty counters between planeswalkers!

Although this deck lacks many lifegain options, Aerith Gainsborough could excel by receiving counters before her demise. Upon her passing, she shares all her +1/+1 counters among your legendary creatures, which could afford you numerous +1/+1 counters for minimal investment.

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