I am far less forgiving of Midgard than you. I found the game WAY too chaotic, with the board situation changing drastically with nearly every card played. Long-term strategies -- even short term strategies -- cannot be implemented due to this chaos.

My feelings on Alchemist mirror your own. After three plays, I felt there was little control here, and victory ultimately went to the player who got lucky. This one headed out the door quick ... as did Midgard.