Cloud, Midgar Mercenary starts by finding the Equipment your hand is missing. For two white mana, he enters and searches any Equipment card into your hand, giving an Equipment deck access to a threat, a protection piece, or a source of cards without relying on its next draw.
Once equipped, Cloud makes triggered abilities of himself and Equipment attached to him trigger an additional time. Sword of Fire and Ice becomes particularly attractive: a successful combat hit can produce two instances of its damage-and-draw trigger. Bloodforged Battle-Axe can create extra copies, while other Swords offer different combinations of cards, counters, or resources. Choose Equipment for the abilities you want to repeat, not simply the largest power bonus.
The equipped condition matters at the moment an ability would trigger. Cloud normally enters without Equipment attached, so his own search ability usually happens once. Attaching Equipment after that trigger is already on the stack does not retroactively double it. His ability also does not reduce equip costs or double activated abilities, so Puresteel Paladin and other support still perform different jobs.
With Sword of Fire and Ice attached, one combat-damage connection normally produces two Sword triggers through Cloud. Each trigger handles its own target and draw. That gives you choices about splitting the damage between small creatures or directing both instances toward the same player.
Cloud fits either as a focused commander or as a compact tutor in a larger Equipment list. In a dedicated build, a cheap first Equipment gets his engine online, and evasion helps him connect with combat-trigger Equipment. Keep enough mana for both casting and attaching what you search. Finding the perfect Sword is only the beginning; getting it onto an attacker before the next useful combat is what makes the tutor pay off.
