Problem: you keep on starting from the wrong assumption and I suggest you start stopping this behaviour! I kept, from the 1st ever post on the topic of Aleph in N5, to repeat the same thing: lack of variability, Aleph risks to turn into a 1 trick pony... which reads also "I don't use deathstars" (which is the opposite of WAAC), also "I like to change lists" (which is the opposite of WAAC). I have no problem in loosing a match, I stopped playing chess when I started winning... which is the opposite of WAAC. The point is: I can loose and I want to have the possibility to change a list on its head without necessarily ending up in the same combinations because... because Aleph doesn't have options! And I believe Stiopa confirm that too in his detailed post on his ideas (he doesn't want another sectorial, yet he suggested not one, but 2 sectorials...). That being said: I am quite tired of discussing on one's belly button. The topic of this forum is "Aleph in N5" so if people has something to say on Aleph in N5 has all the freedom in this world to bring forth their opinion and for as much as I may disagree I would get really angry if somebody else, through direct action or the attempt to divert the main topic to something else (sending the discussion down the drain with or without further intention), was the reason that a contributor decided NOT to post. Answering is not a duty, but answering on point is definitely a good practice!
Can't help having ideas even if I don't think the game needs them :P If I understand your issue correctly, you're not complaining about Aleph's power level as much as one-dimentional list building and lack of fun factor. Let's look closer at this. Imagine you're going to a tournament, three rounds, Crossing Lines, Area of Interest, Uplink Center. What would be your lists? I'll make mine, let's compare and discuss.
On the issue of Devas, while one may think they're boring or lacking in Aleph, taken in context of other factions they're still quite good. They're one of the better hackers in ISS for example. WIP 15, BTS 3, and Immunity (isolated) on a hacker is no small thing! They may be dated and need a point cost adjustment/gear upgrades, but they're still quite elite.
Deva are good. Remarkably resilient with NWI. But do need shock immunity. Can't break the team with #2. Fantastic specialists. The sensor Deva automatically discovers camo with it and almost as good if just doing regular discover. I'm afraid anything more will just make them more expensive, because they are about right for the cost. The next step up is Yadu, who I do think could come down a little. They are essentially unhackable heavies. But expensive in an expensive faction.
I think the only Deva profile that I've never used is the MULTI rifle; They're all things except gunfighters, and that is OK. Yadu are expensive, but in Duos they can do a lot of things. Still not great gunfighters, though. If the Asura Spitfire was ever so slightly cheaper, it would fill that role wonderfully. I also would like to see better hacking projection in OSS, to fit the flavor of the omnipresent net. A Repeater Netrod (priced higher than regular Netrods) would allow having a preprositioned net presence in place as the forces arrive, and would be thematically different from Bandits, Morans and Linked X-Visor Pitchers.
I know the feeling, I am a Lean 6Sigma yellow belt for a reason. About the lists, not playing tourneys I'll take it as a beer&pretzel kinda tournament and I can already tell you that the lists will be different, but one thing won't change: Deva/Dakini/Yadu some REM for cheap orders/TA, certainly netrods and 2 or 3 posthumans. At least as far as OSS is concerned (button pressing OSS is better equipped) and with 2 long range to cover the lanes (figuratively because on my tables there are very little lanes) 2 or 3 haries of deva/deva/dakini or deva/dakini/dakini or deva/yadu duo or arjuna/kiran in a at least 15 orders list what changes is the loadout. The concept is the same: shoot the deva and the spec ops that are pretty squishy. I will humor you and give you 3 lists (should be 2 in a tourney) of a single sectorial as per tournament rules. As for the rest of the comments: you can see it yourselves that there are things to change. Law Dawg you say it yourself that Deva "They may be dated and need a point cost adjustment/gear upgrades"... to you it doesn't qualify as an elite piece that doesn't quite work to a full potential? Ergo Lame Duck like a US president without Congress/Senate support: the most powerful man on Earth that cannot make a single decision. StephanDahl some posts ago I said Asura is too expensive for what it brings compared to The Charontid, very nice idea of the Netrod 2.0. I would also add: nanoscreens... they seem to be a thing now and Aleph is late to the party and it might be an opportunity to compensate for lower ARM values (at the same point cost)
