Luckily, the very few creatures that care about dealing excess combat damage are worded in such a way that the actual source does not matter : Maarika, Brutal Gladiator (AKA Zangief) and the Electromancer don't care about doing the excess damage themselves as long as the creature was dealt excess damage, their abilities will trigger
However, in terms of pure power, I prefer running Imotekh the Stormlord as the commander
Sleeve immediately
The Lorwyn block was a great set for these rich colors, and nothing personifies that better than this art on Smokebraider
There was a thread a few months back for the Pok-Emotions game with a focus on Sleepy linked here which would likely give you a starting point, but I would imagine it is not all inclusive to every card with a sleeping Pokemon
To beat ramp decks in MTG, you need to apply early pressure and disrupt their plan before they hit their big plays