based on Hall of Heroes, this card is probably going to receive an errata:
Is it intended that S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy does not have a Max 1 per character limit?
Yes, that was a mistake. S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy should have “max 1 per character.”
-Alex – October 10, 2025
Her main gimmick is that she collects villain cards, and tucks them. Her abilities and powers give her bonuses, when tucked cards match her enemy. She can also spend the stored cards to draw more.
It's a thematic way to represent her eidetic memory. But it does make her hero cards require a bit more tracking/mental upkeep. There's also a bit less synergy between her cards and generic cards: no other cards really reference tucked cards in a synergistic way.
Her resource generation is stronger than usual. Deft Focus applies to a lot of her cards. As a Genius, she has access to Ingenuity. And of course, she can trade tucked cards for draw in Alter Ego.
Her 15 can fit in a lot of different strategies, but is always going to be a bit independent of the other cards. I've used her in Leadership, with the usual Web of Life and Destiny package. I've used her in Protection. Her THW and ATK can get pretty high with her upgrades.
Overall, Silk is a fun pack. If you like the character, or like the idea of getting bonuses based on what you store, this is a recommendable purchase. Her ability to draw is also generically helpful.
This card is essentially 2 ER to defend an additional time. Nothing special, but a fair rate for an extra defense. If you are already ready when you play this, it accomplishes the same thing as Indomitable or Desperate Defense which let you re-ready after defending. This adds the ability to defend if you are already exhausted, which is very niche but could come up if you want to exhaust for your first defense because you aren't sure you'll get the chance to defend again, or if you surge Exhaustion into Assault. It's hard to imagine doing anything too powerful with this, but as a way to defend some more, this is fine - especially in multiplayer where more attacks occur per round. The most obvious hero to play this card is Captain America for flavor purposes (though he can be a serviceable defender)
Excelsior is the Protection version of Jarnbjorn, a card that has been a mainstay in Aggression decks over the years. After the 2ER cost to get Excelsior in play, you have access to a consistent damage source and resource sink that converts one to 2 damage per defense. Resource sinks like this are always nice to help use all your resources every turn and to give you damage on-demand when minions show up. This alone makes Excelsior a playable card for any deck planning to defend. Excelsior is a great option for killing minions in the villain phase in a Change of Fortune deck. Energy Barrier is usually good enough, but Excelsior doesn't require you to have some undefended damage, which can make things awkward with the Barrier. Kree and Skrull traits don't provide any useful benefits as of now (TBE discount for Hulkling?), but Weapon gives mild synergy with Venom (who can also produce his own during the villain phase), or at a table with someone playing Lock and Load. Excelsior will rarely be the best card in your deck, but it does its thing with little to no extra work, so it should be a staple card for defending Protection decks!
Outside from these two, I'd even consider it worth. It will usually move a minion without any extra benefit, and its 2ER.