Would anyone else actually use a 'Deepslate' tier for tools or is it just redundant?

I've been thinking about the progression loop lately and I keep coming back to the gap between iron and diamond. I know the standard response is 'just go to the nether and get diamonds,' but I feel like there's a missed opportunity for a middle-ground material that isn't just 'better iron.'

My specific thought is around deepslate. Right now, deepslate is just a harder version of stone that's a pain to mine, but it doesn't really serve a functional purpose in terms of player progression. What if there was a way to craft 'Reinforced Deepslate' tools or equipment? Not necessarily stronger than diamond, but maybe they have higher durability or a different niche, like being more resistant to certain environmental effects.

I'm curious if people think this would actually add depth to the mid-game or if it would just feel like another tedious step in the grind. If we added a tier that sat right between iron and diamond, would that make the trip down to Y-level -50 feel more rewarding, or would it just make the game feel like it's dragging out the early stages unnecessarily?

Some people might argue that Netherite already fills that 'upgraded material' slot, but Netherite is a massive jump in difficulty and cost. There's a huge chunk of gameplay where you're just stuck with iron for a long time while searching for diamonds. Having a material that you can actually harvest from the deepslate layers themselves—maybe by using a specific pickaxe type or a new enchantment—could bridge that gap.

I'm not saying it needs to be a whole new ore, because that might clutter the world generation too much. But even something utilizing the existing deepslate blocks could work. For example, maybe you can combine deepslate with iron to create a 'heavy' tool tier that mines slightly slower but has way more durability.

I'd love to hear what you guys think. Is the current progression from iron to diamond fine as it is, or do you feel like the mid-game lacks a bit of identity? Does the idea of a deepslate-based tier sound like a legitimate suggestion to you, or does it just sound like more bloat? I'm trying to figure out if this is a valid way to improve the survival experience or if I'm just overthinking the utility of blocks that are currently only used for decoration/building.