There is no rule that Germany cannot do Sea Lion in Alpha 3 either, Mantle. I am just comparing your stated preferred strategy to my stated perferred strategy.
theROCmonster: I wouldnt necessarily refer to a game I play with Emperor Mollari as a basis for what I do or dont do. We do some really nutso stuff to be different. Fine, I do some nutso stuff and he has to react to it. Not exactly tournament style play (or league style play) where winning in a necessity and far more important that “fun” is. (My definition of fun, that is, where I do something really crazy and alter the game fundamentally.)
General public: In my table top games I am finding that I can take Russia out of the game by Round 8. In games where I have to win online (to prove a point for instance) this is normally delayed to round 11 due to superior opponents. I think the fundamental issue at stake is a lack of imagination. Do the Russians have a few more guns? Yes. But they need them so they have a legitamate shot at all attacking German planes (in theory). Do they also lend a little extra oomph to the defense? Yes. The Germans, meanwhile, have a few more guns than the Russians and given they are generally on the offense, have no qualms about losing them to the Russians, unlike the reverse.
A methodical attack on Russia will cripple it. The Japanese have no fear of attacking the Russians, as the benefit of the Non-Aggro agreement is removed from the game. (Fine, they get 6 infantry instead of 12 IPC, but as I said, it’s not in a position to help them anymore.) The Italians might lose more or less fleet, but then, they’re not as gung-ho about Africa if they are dedicated to helping take out Russia (with an attack through Caucasus or Turkey to get to the money). That’s not to say the Italians cannot recover, they have an equal chance at recovery in Alpha 2 as they do in Alpha 3 when it comes to their fleet, but now they have more incentive to send units towards Russia to help out. (Italian guns can be moved to Germany/France/W. Germany to dissuade British bombing runs. A fighter in Germany/W. Germany isn’t a bad idea either, if they are Italian fighters.)
So Russia went from 1.5 nations attacking it to 2.5 nations attacking it. I would even go so far as to say you have to count Germany attacking it twice, since they are earning twice what the Russians are making it 3.5 nations vs Russia. As for China, there is even MORE reason to ignore it now, not less.