Sylvan Library strikes me as better than Crystal Ball. If you're looking for consistency, Muddle the Mixture tutors for it. $80 Jace would also be outstanding but I assume it's out of your budget. (My entire Intet deck is worth less than that one card.) Scroll Rack is another fairly expensive card that rules with the general out.
I've played occasionally at Active Imagination and 3C Gamers at UNM.
I like Kederekt Leviathan better than Inkwell Leviathan, but the latter does go with your artifact theme. I'd recommend Rite of Replication and Wild Ricochet as two outstanding cards. Both Keiga and Tidespout Tyrant look a little weak, though Keiga can go well with RoR.
Oh, there's the Kiki-Jiki plus Pestermite combo if want to make Tooth and Nail an immediate win.
Absolutely untrue. While I could agree that Desertion is generally better, Gather Specimens does various things it cannot. When someone plays Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Twilight's Call, or Warp World, you want Gather Specimens.