Some Overtime Required

"I'm the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Lying to the entire world is in the job description. Right next to 'some overtime required,' which I would like to point out is a severe understatement."
—Maria Hill, Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha Vol 1 1

Most heroes take out threats by thwarting and attacking -- but not Maria. As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., she spends a lot of time at the office (aka Alter-Ego), controlling the situation by sending out her fleet of ships. A lot of this deck works in Alter-Ego, so feel free to spend plenty of time at the office, keeping schemes clear, dealing damage, and handing out statuses while your teammates do the messy attack-y stuff.

THE FLEET

The core of this deck is your fleet of ships. Aim to get one or two out per turn. Her Alter-Ego ability is a huge help -- if you drew one you want to play, use her ability to grab a S.H.I.E.L.D. support you can throw for a resource, usually either Surveillance Team or Field Agent. If you didn't draw one to play, use her ability to grab the one you want.

• The Iliad - The big daddy and my first target, getting this out turn one is chef's kiss; it's versatility is it's best feature, use it to solve whatever problems your team is having at the moment
  
• Helicarrier - Usually my second target as it'll help pay for everything else
  
• Sky-Destroyer - The earlier you get this out, the more damage it'll do
  
• The Pericles - Another good early target, I'll play this on a turn when I pull at least one double resource
  
• The Circe - Communicate with your team on this one; they'll often have better targets for it than you will, but definitely use it to grab Agent 13 if she hasn't shown her face yet
  
• The Douglass - This one doesn't always make it to the table, but it can be crucial for certain scenarios

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

Your allies are here to power your ships. Send them on missions and lean on their services to get the job done.

• Agent 13 - Sharon will give you two uses of a S.H.I.E.L.D. support each turn, usually The Iliad
  
• Field Agent - As important as any of your allies, save your counters to keep Agent 13 alive for the duration of the game
  
• Nick Fury - Super Spies does a lot of work here, so you'll want to have Nick out as much as possible, but having a teammate playing the Nick hero is even better
  
• Monica Chang - Play her at least once or twice per game to get yourself more counters, then move those to other ships, usually The Iliad

HERO FORM

While you'll spend most of the game in Alter-Ego, you do have a few reasons to flip up.

• Field Agent - Once Agent 13 and Field Agent are in play, I'll usually flip every turn so I can trigger this response
  
• Super Spies - The value on this card is BONKERS, if you put them all on The Iliad, this amounts to 15 damage or 12 threat removal or 9 healing for 0 cost; if you've got a teammate playing the Nick hero, ask them to include a copy in their deck as well
  
• Government Liaison - Hits 16 cards and can let you play something off turn if needed
  
• All-Points Bulletin - A great mid/late game powerhouse; toss it as a resource in the early game
  
• Skilled Investigator - Only triggers in Hero form, so try to coordinate with your teammates to kill side schemes when you're flipped up; in a four player game I'll often hand them all to my teammates and not keep one for myself
  
• The Hard Call - Not a card I use much, but can be a great late game finisher if needed

INTELLIGENCE

Any good S.H.I.E.L.D. Director relies on good Intelligence, and you can largely nerf the villain phase with this card. I usually flip all the encounter cards over and talk to my team about the best place for each one. The most difficult part is remembering to use it before you start resolving encounters.

THWARTING

As the Justice player on the team, this deck is usually doing most of the heavy thwarting.

• Homeland Intervention - Surveillance Team are my usual target, but if you're not getting a use out of a Field Agent or a ship that turn, those can be targets as well
  
• Your Ships - The Iliad and The Douglass will straight up remove threat, but The Circe can also help by bringing out a thwarty ally, and The Pericles can provide some confusion
  
• Allies - Agent 13 and Nick Fury each have 2 THW and Monica Chang is good for one before she gives you a block
  
• All-Points Bulletin - Once you're built out, APB becomes a HUGE threat card; play it often and remember you can split the threat (or damage) however you want

DAMAGE

My teammates will handle most of the dirty work, but Sky-Destroyer will ping some damage throughout the game. I usually use The Iliad for thwarting and healing, then switch to damage in the late game. Same for All-Points Bulletin; use it to keep schemes in check until your team is ready to finish the villain.

DEFENSE

I usually have a teammate handling my defense, but with toughs and stuns from The Pericles, Healing from The Iliad, Monica Chang chumping, 2 DEF, Life Model Decoy, and lots of opportunities to recover in Alter-Ego, I generally don't have problems staying alive.

Mulligan Priorities: Double resources. If you get two, use your AE ability to grab The Iliad, if you don’t, grab another support to use as a resource for whatever high priority allies or supports you drew into.

This deck is a great support for any team. I've played it with a variety of scenarios and teammates, and it's always a good time. Let me know if you try it!