In the vast history of MTG, few sets have been as dreadful as March of the Machine: The Aftermath. Despite being an interesting concept, the small pack and set size infuriated players. Factor in the leaks from this set causing Wizards to employ the Pinkertons in retaliation, and it’s no wonder the set went down in infamy.
While March of the Machine: The Aftermath does deserve much of its hate, the set does have some stellar cards. Calix, Guided by Fate, for instance, is a genuinely powerful Commander with tons of utility and decent combo potential. Despite this, Calix sees surprisingly little play as a Commander, which feels like a major missed opportunity.
MTG Calix, Guided by Fate
With a focus on playing and copying enchantments, unsurprisingly, Calix, Guided by Fate supports a robust Enchantress deck. As always, this makes staples like Sythis, Harvest’s Hand, Sanctum Weaver, and Jukai Naturalist auto-includes. Similarly, this deck can make great use of Ethereal Armor and All That Glitters since you’ll want tons of enchantments in play.
While going tall with enchantments is a potent strategy, Calix, Guided by Fate really wants to go wide. To do this, cards like Archon of Sun’s Grace and Ajani’s Chosen are invaluable. Similarly, Ellivere of the Wild Court and Gylwain, Casting Director are a godsend, thanks to providing a steady stream of enchantments.
Alongside these, you’ll also need plenty of cheap evasion-granting enchantments like Spirit Mantle, Shield of the Oversoul, and Unquestioned Authority to deal combat damage. This should let you reliably trigger Calix’s second ability, which is where things really pop off. Even with this ability being limited by a once-per-turn restriction, this safety net is more of a guideline.
Naturally, copying powerful enchantments like Doubling Season, Sphere of Safety, or Hallowed Haunting with Calix can massively supercharge your game plan. The real fun, however, begins when you start making copies of Calix, since it’s an enchantment too. Naturally, this will let you spiral out of control, making even more Calix’s for more triggers down the line.
Realistically, while Calix, Guided by Fate can spiral out of control worryingly quickly, it can win the game fairly, too. Between being able to copy enchantments like Sage’s Reverie and the +1/+1 counters from its first ability, Calix can dish out an insane amount of Commander damage. If you do want to push things further, however, Calix does enable a very nasty infinite combo.
Infinite Mice Make Infinite Enchantments
Technically, all that Calix, Guided by Fate needs to go infinite is Three Blind Mice. By creating a copy of this that’s a token, it can copy itself during its second and third chapters. Since you’ll always have to go through its first chapter, over time, this will get you infinite mouse tokens.
Thankfully, with a few extra pieces of support, this combo gets a whole lot scarier. Alongside Barbara Wright, for instance, you can immediately skip to chapter two, copying Three Blind Mice endlessly. Since each one entering will trigger Calix, you can get infinite +1/+1 Counters this way for a sudden lethal swing.
Alternatively, with Doubling Season in play, you can make infinite copies of any other token you control as well. Not only will Doubling Season create two copies of Three Blind Mice, but they’ll both enter with two Lore Counters. One of these triggers can be used to copy itself, making infinite Sagas, while the other copies any existing token.
Once again, using this combo will let Calix create infinite counters, setting up easy damage wins. Technically, provided it’s a token first, you can also get silly copying Ossification or Smothering Tithe, but realistically that’s not needed.
A More-Than Capable Commander
Given how quickly Calix, Guided by Fate can spiral out of control, it’s wild that it’s not more popular in Commander. According to EDHREC, Calix only helms around 3,100 decks, which feels like a massive missed opportunity. While it is more popular in the 99, appearing in over 41,000 decks, these lists arguably aren’t getting the most out of it.
Sadly, thanks to being fairly popular in the 99 and scarce from its controversial source, Calix, Guided by Fate is rather expensive. On TCGplayer, you’ll have to pay at least $12 to pick up a copy. Even at this price point, however, given the power that Calix offers, it’s still well worth building around.
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