Is This Clever Writing or Lazy Retcon?
Lore forum
Posted on Jan. 9, 2020, 5:04 p.m. by Braxlin
Hey guys this is something I posted on Reddit earlier and I just wanted some more perspective on the question. While I was going thru the spoiled cards for lore on TBD, I came to think about a plot point in Theros Beyond Death that has a few people talking. That regarding Calix and his being an artificial planeswalker.
For those who haven't been following or just not familiar with what I'm talking about here's a quick tldr. Calix, Destiny's Hand is the 3rd planeswalker for the set and is a creation of the goddess Klothys, God of Destiny . Calix is apparently going to be working to get Elspeth back into the underworld, working as an agent of Klothys. The problem with this is that in the past planeswalkers (with the exception of Karn) have to be organic beings and not artificially created. This is why angels and demons can't really become planeswalkers as they are either a manifestation of their homeplane's mana or a creation of an extremely powerful being like Serra or Sorin. Tibalt and Ob Nixilis work as planeswalkers because they were changed from their human form into their current forms either after their spark ignited or when their sparks ignited. Karn is aslo a super rare exception as he was a creation of Urza using multiple powerstones as well as being imbued with a part of Urza's spark and later Venser's spark.
With that out of the way we now run into the issue of Calix. From the miniscule information we have we know that Calix is either artifically created and is somehow a planeswalker.
When I thought about this for a while I came to an interesting theory about why Calix could possibly be a planeswalker even tho he is strongly hinted at being artificial in nature. My thought is that from the spoilers we've seen in the cards so far Klothys is said to be able to weave the destinies of the mortals on the plane as the literal goddess of destiny; and with my memory of Greek mythology, I honestly think Klothys may have manipulated Calix's threads of fate so that his spark ignites. This works even moreso if Calix is her demigod, because then he wouldn't be 100% artificial like a golem or a manifestation rather he'd be a returned which would fall into an organic person... though maybe not so fresh.
This also opens the door to how much Kruphix actually knows and what other secrets older gods like Klothys may know. Maybe she's manipulated other mortals to become planeswalkers before the rise of Heliod and the current pantheon. Who knows, anyways does anyone else think this theory of mine is good or just out right wrong?
The issue with this is the God's perception of Planeswalking. In Thassa and Kiora's combat, Thassa couldn't grasp the concept. Klothys devised a being capable of magic unbeknownst to the deities, a fact proven by specific occasion.
January 10, 2020 12:28 a.m.
RicketyEng says... #4
Kruphix is aware of planeswalkers and the existence of other planes.
As for the op, the notion of Klothys manipulating fate to spark a planeswalker is intriguing to me. It's kind of like how Aminatou foresaw her spark ignition and decided she didn't feel like waiting.
I'm content to accept whatever explanation comes about for Calix's origins. If he is not an artificial being then great. If he technically turns out to be but we can wave our hands and say that being nyxborn is not the same as being a construct or demon or angel then so be it.
January 10, 2020 1:55 a.m.
OK GUYS NVM ITS A STUPID RETCON. APPARENTLY YOU ONLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT PLANESWALKING TO DO IT. NOPE NOTHING ELSE TO DISCUSS. (walks backstage)(indiscriminate yelling in the back) I CAN'T EVEN RIGHT NOW! WHY?! HOW?! WAT THE HECK ARE THEY THINKING?! NO I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT I'M GOING HOME, EVERYBODY JUST TAKE THE DAY OFF!
Lol but seriously... why they do dat tho?
January 10, 2020 1:44 p.m.
He didn't just "think about planeswalking"--he was thinking about how his entire purpose in life had disappeared to another plane where he could not follow. Finding out your entire existence is now meaningless is exactly the kind of high-stress situation that might ignite a spark.
Calix's ignition was poorly-written (the entire article was), but not a break from established lore.
As for himself, he appears to be Nyxborn, based on the starry sparkles on his card's art. That's a bit different than something we've seen before, and might be a bit of a break from the established lore. That said, we don't know the specifics of how the God of Destiny brought about his existence, and we know for a fact that there exist ways to implant a spark in artificial constructs .
January 10, 2020 2:18 p.m.
So heres a thought: you know how Xenagos became a God after becoming a Walker? And Kruphix knew about planeswalkers? What if one of the requirements to becoming a God is to be a planeswalker from Theros and giving up your spark? And all the other Gods kind of forgot.
But Klothys wouldn't, or did and unconsciously gave Calix her spark or the remnants of it. It would make sense on why he has a spark, and also set up another planeswalker who is remembered fondly on theros as the next white God, replacing heliod.
January 10, 2020 3:56 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #8
I kind of like it.
Calix is a being created for absolutely one single purpose. After being repeatedly frustrated in achieving his purpose he finally finds his quarry absolutely and impossibly beyond his reach. This realization, paired with the overwhelming strength of his conviction, shakes him down to within his very core and then he feels his core crack. A new spark of power pours forth from within and he finds himself able to resume his pursuit.
January 10, 2020 5:22 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #9
I bet Calix would make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts.
January 10, 2020 5:33 p.m.
KorandAngels says... #10
Maybe sparks are made of Nyx, or the equivalent on the plane the planeswalkers are from.
Actually, probably not.
DemonDragonJ says... #2
I believe that, until WotC reveals more about Calix, we can only speculate about how he came into existence.
I also have been wondering about Ashiok; given their form, are they actually a natural-born organic being? When the Kaladesh block began, I thought that Ashiok was an aetherborn, but WotC denied that theory, so there must be some other reason for Ashiok's unusual form.
January 9, 2020 9:53 p.m.