I still don't understand how Bureaucrat survived into the 2E Base, but man that card is so bad, even worse than some of the 1E removals like Woodcutter and Feast, which sure were boring, but at least usable on most boards. Bureaucrat usually just means a 9-card Kingdom.
Since Clerk from Prosperity 2E is already basically a "fixed" Bureaucrat, Scrivener is a more exotic variation as a cheap one-shot Attack with a non-terminal Armory on top (letting you gain more than just Silver) and then Clerk's same half-Ghost Ship attack. Opening with Scrivener kind of allows you to open with two $4s (though one will often miss the shuffle), with a mild Attack thrown in.
And hey, if you ever miss Bureaucrat, Scrivener can even do an imitation by topdecking Silver and forcing opponents to topdeck VP cards, except it's way better because afterwards you don't still have a Bureaucrat in your deck.