Cleopatra, Exiled PharaohCleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh | Art by Mandy Jurgens

Hey nerds! In this week's article, I wanted to showcase a personal favorite deck of mine, Cleopatra, Exiled PharaohCleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh. Yes, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) set wasn't received with open arms, but it did provide several powerful upgrades for Cleopatra, which I have no issues sleeving up.

Besides, Cleopatra is already a Universes Beyond (UB) commander, so let's lean into that theme and play as many UB cards as possible.

What Does Cleopatra, Exiled PharaohCleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh Do?

Cleopatra pulls you in two directions. First and foremost is +1/+1 counters. She places counters on other legendary creatures, including your opponents', which makes for a great political tool. The downside is that she can't put these counters on herself. Not a huge issue, but something to keep in mind.

The second focus is legendary creatures. Not just yours, but all of them in play. Whenever a legendary creature with counters dies, you get to draw cards and lose a little life. Notably, it's any kind of counter, ranging from keyword counters to scream counters. Okay, scream counters are from All Hallow's EveAll Hallow's Eve, but you get the point.

The easiest counters to add though are +1/+1 and -1/-1. You'll need to be careful adding both at the same time, as they cancel each other out.

Key Cards for Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh

The TMNT Cards

As I said at the start, TMNT released some powerful legends to add to this deck.

If I could only add one card, it would be Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11. Having a Hardened ScalesHardened Scales effect on a two-mana legend is exactly what this deck wants. Not only that, but he also comes with a MutagenMutagen token, which gives +1/+1 counters. It's the perfect enabler and support piece for this deck.

Coming in close second is Mutagen Man, Living OozeMutagen Man, Living Ooze. It makes Mutagen tokens free to sacrifice and scales as the game progresses. I'm even considering adding more ways to make Clue and Map tokens to take full advantage of Mutagen Man.

Finally, Madame Null, Power BrokerMadame Null, Power Broker can essentially double the power of creatures at the cost of life.

Gaining Life

A major issue I had when I first built the deck was running out of life.

My first thought was to add Blood ArtistBlood Artist effects, but they were too slow and inefficient. Sheoldred, the ApocalypseSheoldred, the Apocalypse was a pricey pickup for the deck, but worth every penny. She's a legend who lets me draw my deck without fear of dying and can even stop pesky wheel decks. South Wind AvatarSouth Wind Avatar isn't legendary, but pairs nicely with Madame Null.

The most recent addition to the deck is Weather the StormWeather the Storm. It's not unusual to play several spells a turn, especially after drawing a dozen or two cards. It also makes a great anti-combo piece; if someone goes infinite, you can too.

Sac Outlets

Despite Cleopatra wanting creatures to die, I've found it's more efficient to have your creature die in combat than by sacrificing them to Ashnod's AltarAshnod's Altar. But if we're going to sacrifice them, I want more than just mana.

Yahenni, Undying PartisanYahenni, Undying Partisan is a free unconditional sac outlet when it's needed, but on a legendary creature. I'll gladly take that over an artifact that doesn't quite fit the theme. The Gitrog, Ravenous RideThe Gitrog, Ravenous Ride basically doubles the card draw and lets you put a metric ton of lands into play. Unfortunately, you won't draw off Cleopatra's ability until you finish drawing off Gitrog's, but it's still a ton of cards.

Finally, Yawgmoth, Thran PhysicianYawgmoth, Thran Physician has the added benefit of adding -1/-1 counters to creatures, giving you more draw in the future. Yawgmoth does have protection from Humans, which means Cleo can't target Yawg with her ability.

How Does This Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh Commander Deck Win?

Another issue I initially had was actually winning the game. I could draw a million cards, but couldn't close out games.

Turns out having 40 cards in hand isn't a win condition. So I turned to the lowest hanging fruit, which happened to be the best option: Psychosis CrawlerPsychosis Crawler. Crawler has won me more games than I can count in this deck. If you're able to get it and a free sac outlet in play, you'll often win on the spot.

Another powerful finisher is Jarad, Golgari Lich LordJarad, Golgari Lich Lord. His ability does cost a bit, but it's absolutely worth it if you can knock a threat out of the game.

The second set of finishers relies on getting a Walking BallistaWalking Ballista under Agatha's Soul CauldronAgatha's Soul Cauldron. Sometimes the line is to swing in with a large trampling board and ping down the rest of the damage.

Or you go for plan D, and instead sacrifice your board to Altar of DementiaAltar of Dementia and mill out someone. Another option is to cast Living DeathLiving Death, sacrifice your board to Altar, targeting yourself, then reanimating all your creatures.

Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Cleopatra has been one of my favorite decks for over a year now, and I can't recommend her enough. She combines the fun graveyard nonsense of Golgari () with the card draw of Izzet (). The biggest threat to this deck is graveyard hate and decking yourself. I've had a few games where opponents force me to draw my library by trading two big legendary creatures in combat.

I've never had a game where I felt like I've done nothing, and that's the best feeling. Even if you only take some of my build as inspiration, give her a shot. I'd suggest building an all-UB deck with her. There are more than enough legends at this point to build a powerful deck even with that restriction.

If you want to see even more Magic content from me, you can find plenty of that on my YouTube channel BathroomBrewsMTG. Alrighty nerds, I'll see you in the next one!