Hi ASFood,
>That's a lot of updates to load. Is there a best practice for deciding on which updates need to be loaded.
1. In WSUS server, clients will report their status to WSUS server, then we may create a new view of "Office 2013", filter "Needed" updates, approve "Needed" updates for clients.

2. Here is an article about some updates recommended to be installed on Office 2013 SP1 for your reference:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3068507
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/messaging_with_communications/2015/07/01/current-cumulative-updates-for-office-q3-2015/
Best Regards,
Anne
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