BlueLegendary Creature — Human WizardHaldan, Avid Arcanist
Mana value3Rank#10,421PartnerYes
The Commander
Partner with Pako, Arcane Retriever (When this creature enters, target player may put Pako into their hand from their library, then shuffle.)
You may play lands and cast noncreature spells from among cards you exiled that have fetch counters on them, and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast those spells.
Guide
Gameplan
Pair Haldan with Pako, Arcane Retriever for a Temur "fetch" deck: attacking with Pako exiles two cards from random libraries with fetch counters, and Haldan lets you play those lands and noncreature spells with any color of mana. You churn through opponents' decks for free value, ramp into big cast triggers, and snowball card advantage until you bury the table.
Strengths
- Generates absurd, free card advantage from every Pako combat, casting spells with any color of mana
- Color-fixing built into Haldan lets you splash any noncreature spell or land you exile
- Pako grows huge with each fetch, becoming a real clock plus a payoff for going wide on attacks
- Highly resilient grind engine that out-values nearly any midrange table
Weaknesses
- Reliant on the partner pair sticking together—removing either Haldan or Pako kneecaps the engine
- Random exiles mean inconsistent payoffs; you can whiff into lands or off-color cards you can't use
- Slow to actually close games; needs combat connection or a separate wincon
- Vulnerable to graveyard/exile hate and creature removal stacking on the commanders
Key Cards
- Pako, Arcane Retriever — The mandatory partner whose attack trigger exiles the fetch-countered cards Haldan can then cast.
- Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh — As a 0-cost legend it enables wild value plays and free attackers, though the core pair is Pako.
- Cryptic Command — A premium flexible counter/bounce you can cast off any color from your exile pile.
- Smothering Tithe — Adds explosive ramp and treasure fixing to fuel casting big exiled spells.
- Mystic Remora — Cheap, repeatable card advantage that keeps pace with the engine early.
- Lightning Greaves — Protects the fragile commanders so the fetch engine keeps running.
Upgrade Path
Prioritize protection (Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Heroic Intervention) and ramp/fixing (Smothering Tithe, fast mana) so Pako survives and connects reliably. Add evasion and combat enhancers like Rogue's Passage or trample sources to convert the engine into damage, and lean into high-impact noncreature payoffs since you can cast them off any color. Tighten the curve with cantrips and tutors to ensure you always have a follow-up when the random exiles whiff.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Beating down with an ever-growing Pako, often with trample or evasion
- ▸Casting overwhelming free spells (board wipes, counters, bombs) to grind the table out
- ▸Hitting a big finisher or extra-combat spell exiled by Pako
- ▸Assembling incidental spell-based combos enabled by free polychromatic casting
Archetypes
- Value Midrange — Haldan turns Pako's random exiles into a relentless free card-advantage engine.
- Spellslinger — Casting noncreature spells off the exile pile with any color rewards an instant/sorcery-heavy shell.
- Voltron/Combat — Pako's growing power gives a built-in beatdown win backed by evasion and protection.
- Control — Free counterspells and removal cast from exile let you police the table while accruing advantage.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (U), by popularity.
