Haldan and Pako form a theft engine: each time Pako attacks, it exiles the top card of every player's library with fetch counters, and Haldan lets the deck play lands and cast noncreature spells from among those cards using mana of any color. Creature cards exiled this way cannot be cast through Haldan, though they still feed Etali-style free casting. The list supports this by giving Pako safe, repeated attacks (evasion auras, hexproof tricks, haste and menace), by ramping hard so the stolen spells can actually be paid for, and by layering on more "cast from exile" engines such as cascade, Etali and Mizzix copies. How it wins: It turns opponents' decks against them through repeated attacks with a growing Pako and other evasive threats, casting their best noncreature spells along the way until the combat damage closes the game. Key roles: - Making Pako connect: Auras and activated abilities make Pako or another attacker unblockable, flying or menacing, so the theft trigger and the +1/+1 counters pile up every turn without losing the dog in combat (Aqueous Form, Protective Bubble, Amphin Pathmage). - Protecting the engine: Cheap hexproof instants and blanket hexproof keep Pako and Haldan alive through targeted removal, along with a few counterspells for bigger threats (Snakeskin Veil, Mizzium Skin, Lost in the Maze). - Mana to cast stolen spells: Mana dorks, land auras that multiply mana, and ramp creatures produce big pools, so Haldan's any-color permission can fund several pilfered spells in one turn (Market Festival, Glittering Frost, Orcish Lumberjack). - Free casting from exile: Etali duplicates Pako's exile-and-cast effect with no cost, and cascade cards add more off-hand casts (Etali, Primal Storm, Bloodbraid Elf, Forceful Denial). - Copying off-hand spells: Every spell cast from exile, whether stolen, cascaded or Etali-freed, can be copied, doubling the value of opponents' cards (Mizzix, Replica Rider, Averna, the Chaos Bloom). - Board control and pressure: The initiative, goad, sweepers and creature removal clear blockers and keep opponents busy, so the attackers keep swinging (Stirring Bard, Red Death, Shipwrecker, Curse of the Swine).

Haldan, Avid Arcanist & Pako, Arcane Retriever decklist

• Arcane Signet
• Oblivion Stone
• Sky Diamond
• Trailblazer's Torch
• Command Tower
• Exotic Orchard
• 20× Forest
• Game Trail
• Hidden Nursery
• 14× Island
• Izzet Boilerworks
• Mossfire Valley
• 15× Mountain
• Myriad Landscape
• Simic Growth Chamber
• Acidic Slime
• Amphin Pathmage
• Averna, the Chaos Bloom
• Bloodbraid Elf
• Clifftop Lookout
• Elvish Mystic
• Etali, Primal Storm
• Farhaven Elf
• Kiora's Follower
• Llanowar Elves
• Mizzix, Replica Rider
• Orcish Lumberjack
• Red Death, Shipwrecker
• Stirring Bard
• Aqueous Form
• Gift of Paradise
• Glittering Frost
• Lost in the Maze
• Market Festival
• Protective Bubble
• Wolfwillow Haven
• Decisive Denial
• Disdainful Stroke
• Forceful Denial
• Hapatra's Mark
• Mizzium Skin
• Opportunity
• Ranger's Guile
• Rowdy Research
• Snakeskin Veil
• Water Wings
• Anchor to the Aether
• Consuming Tide
• Crush the Weak
• Curse of the Swine
• Curse of the Werefox
• Nahiri's Warcrafting