MTG Salvation

I have to agree and disagree with the activated milling ability, but only with regards to the deranged assistant. I have been Playtesting this deck over the last few days and I find the mana ramp generated by this little guy is paramount, the Mill ability is a bonus feature. I have also used 3 Misthollow griffin and 1 Skaab Ruinator in order add a little late game preasure. I really love the synergy with that griffin, and the hermit help to power him out as well. Just my 2 cent.

I understand now. I played the deck last Friday and totally understand how Trackers is better.

Forbidden Alchemy isn't a horrible card, it's just that with DKA out, there are now better options. Mulch if you need some lands, Dream Twist is just a straight up mill for 3 for 1 mana, which is better than dumping two more mana to keep a card. Thought Scour is just powerful as it's a mill two, draw one for one blue mana. Faithless Looting is even more powerful than that for a red, and Shriekhorn just lets you mill for 6 for one measly mana.

Forbidden Alchemy just doesn't help as much for it's cost, and half the time you mill stuff, it'll either be creatures to build up power for your scary Splinterfrights, or spells you can flashback, like Tracker's Instincts or Gnaw to the Bone.

tl;dr Forbidden Alchemy is an inferior option to say, four Tracker's Instincts. And active tap or mana-costed mill effects on creatures are just not good for this kind of deck which really needs the mana early on to drop scary things like Boneyard Wurms, Screeching Skaabs, and Splinterfrights.

Why is alchemy the worst? I understand it costs 3, which is more than Tracker and Mulch Cost, but I'd think the ability to choose which card you want is good.

I already have, and every card you listed omit Trackers is sub par on many levels to other options we posses.

Flat out, creature based, activated ability milling is a bad idea. About the only time its "ok" is against a heavy control meta where you have the time to spend a few turns selectively milling yourself. In most cases, simply bum rushing your graveyard with mass amounts of cards as quick as possible, will net you greater results in the long run. Not to mention, if you just make 30+ cards in your deck creatures, selective milling looses all value because your draws will almost always be great cards for any situation your in.

I made this comparison in the standard dredge thread,

Merfolk Looter - Screeching Skaab
- Looter cannot mill the turn its played. (And needs 3 turns to mill as much as skaab.)
- Skaab mills 2 the moment it hits the field.
- Looter cannot attack or block because it needs to tap to actively mill.
- Skaab can attack and block at will, because his mill is over with. He is a means of damage and preventing damage, with the hopes he hits your graveyard to be of even more use!

Civilized Scholar - Armored Skaab
- Scholar cannot mill the turn its played. (And needs !!!5!!! turns to mill as much as skaab. Plus thats only if you do not attack with him. If you do attack, he takes an extra turn just to regain his tap ability!)
- Skaab mills 4 the moment it hits the field.
- Scholar cannot attack or block at will because it needs to tap to actively mill.
- Skaab can attack and block at will, because his mill is over with. He is a means of damage and preventing damage, with the hopes he hits your graveyard to be of even more use!

When you consider all of those factors, cards like Merfolk Looter, Civilized Scholar and Deranged Assistant really lose a lot of there face value.

Likewise, Forbidden Alchemy is just a bad, BAD card. There are SOOOOO many better milling options out there, you could literally pick any one of them and probably end up in better shape. Mulch, Dream Twist, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting and Shriekhorn all come to mind before I would ever consider seriously running an alchemy.

I've got a very similar list for standard right now, but I've been running Merfolk Looter, Forbidden Alchemy, and Tracker's Instincts for more power over what I've got in-hand. Deranged Assistant also makes my list as supplemental ramp. Might wanna give a few tries to some of these?