Wow, where to begin. Let me see if I can cover things in one fell swoop.
Chalice of the Void
How is Chalice generally played? Do you simply slap down a Chalice at 0 on the play to hedge against moxen and pitch future Chalices to Thirst, or do you also ever use Chalice at 1, 2, or maybe even 3?
Chalice for 0 gets dumped down on the play more often than not, while dropping for 1 to cut off things like Welders, Duress-effects, Spell Snare, etc. Chalice for 1 is also a major anti-Ichorid move, cutting off their ability to deal with Platinum Angel (in addition to post-board Leyline) and vitally cutting off Cabal Therapy. Chalice for 2 is a rarer play that comes down in the mirror to beat Smmenen because my deck is just awesome like that. Higher numbers generally get cast off Drain mana against Shop decks to cut off their more crucial threats.
Null Rod
Keeping in mind that ICBM Oath runs 6 artifact mana sources as well (and less important, Mishra's Workshop), does Null Rod serve primarily as a conditional card where you decide whether to use it or pitch it depending on the board state?
Null Rod does in fact end up as Thirst fodder quite often, generally depending on if you've cut off their Moxen with a Chalice. Null Rod is a long-neglected lock component that I see coming back in relevancy now that people are back to one land drop per turn. It also provides you with a much-needed catch-all against Belcher.
Mishra's Factory
What function do the factories serve? Chump blockers? Extra damage to speed along Platz kills? Are they really worth the damage to the mana base?
I worry that with only 12 blue-producing lands, you could be in for trouble against opposing Wastelands.
Maybe they're a holdover from a long-gone era, but they are much better than given credit for. Factory singlehandedly holds off aggro and goblin creatures aside from Tarmogoyf, and even trades with a Juggernaut. That being said, a faster metagame would render them inefficient and likely cut for the third Waste and an extra blue source.
Blue Cards
You only have 19 blue cards in here. Is that sufficient to reliably have a card to pitch to Force of Will, given that Brainstorm x4 is no longer there to assist?
Never been a problem before in my experience.
Merchant Scroll
Are there just too many 2 drops for Scroll x1 to work? After all, it's a great tutor that fetches Ancestral Recall, counters, Chain of Vapor, and Mystical Tutor.
Scroll tends to be less efficient with the limited options and is strictly worse than the other 3 tutors. It's more a question that I don't need a fourth tutor than anything against the card itself.
Basic Islands
No basic islands to defend against first turn Wastelands? These would go in for the Factories above.
Depending on the post 6/20 metagame, you may very well be correct.
Tolarian Academy
With so many cheap artifacts, Academy can be used to power out a Platz sitting in your hand. Why not Academy?
Rarely do you sit on more than a couple artifacts at any time, and you want to be pitching your extra to Thirst. Academy tends to be a Waste-able Island that doesn't tap for a second color.
Lotus Petal
Lotus Petal works every bit as well as the Pearl to get a turn 1 Oath out, but also serves to get turn 1 Drain online. Why Pearl over Petal?
Simply because you have to value the permanency of Pearl over the possibility of turn 1 Drain. You need extra sources over the course of the game to cast bigger Chalices, Thirsts, and possibly Angels. In addition, Petal doesn't work very well with Tinker which tends to be relevant more often than not.
Yawgmoth's Will + Krosan Reclamation
Any particular reason this usually auto-include card (and it's support) is not present? Is there simply too much conflict with Chalice for 0?
For Will, same reason the deck never ran it. You simply can't afford to have it in the opening hand in a deck like this. Also, there is absolutely nothing in the list that really serves to abuse it. Krosan Rec (and the Blessing that Oath oft runs) is simply not needed because Platinum means you never worry about decking. Generally you're not going to run out of Angels with 3.
Crucible of Worlds
Given the presensce of Strip Mine, Wasteland x2, and Mishra's Workshop x2, Crucible might be a powerful bomb in this deck to either lock down the oponent (synergy with Chalice/Null Rod here), recur a blocker, or thin out your deck and reinforce your mana base. It also synergizes with Oath as there's a good chance Strip Mine and Wasteland will be nicely put into your graveyard for you. Lastly, it can be pitched to Thirst if not needed.
The deck actually prefers Life from the Loam, which I cut out of the maindeck because I believe the new metagame will simply be too fast for it. At very least it will be a sideboard slot because of how thoroughly it disrupts Stax and any sort of mirror. Again, if the metagame turns out slower than expected then it likely will find its way back in.
Pact of Negation
There were some Platz Oath decks running Pact, which is pretty much self-explanatory. Any thoughts on their inclusion?
Great card, but generally you need to counter things first, resolve Oath later, and it is a dead card in any hand not containing Oath or Tinker. Also, Chalice for 0 interferes.
Removal
In a world without Merchant Scroll, is a single copy of Chain of Vapor really sufficient? Also, is Chain of Vapor over Echoing Truth or Repeal ideal given that your opponent might be willing to sac a land to bounce your Platz, costing you time?
You still have 3 tutors, and Chain of Vapor is really just in there as a random out that can safely bounce Chalice for 2. If you're casting Chain with an Angel out, generally it's to remove their own Platinum Angel, at which point you simply Oath up another one. Echoing Truth kinda doesn't work if you have 3 out and they have 1. Repeal cannot realistically bounce Plats or a lot of other threats so there's no reason to run it.
On a different note, would Intuition->(Bazaar, Loam, Strip) be worth running in ICBM Oath? Note that Inuition also can find Oath, or Factores or Orchard.
Intuition is nice, but it really is a painful way to find 4-ofs, and Loam gets tutored up easily enough. I'll address Bazaar when I address Smmenen's post.
I used to have ICBM Oath as part of my testing gauntlet. I think it is a solid deck and has the potential to become a contender again. I think the win condition is pitifully slow and vulnerable, but perhaps this is a necessary evil. I'm not entirely convinced that Akroma/Razia are dated options, simply based on their superior strength as finishers. Platz is brutal against Welders and the clock is slow enough to allow your opponent to find answers. I could be wrong, but it seems that since a higher premium is going to be placed on the attack step in the upcoming metagame, that the Angel suite may be superior.
If I was worried about things like that I'd run Tidespouts over Akroma/Razia in any case. In any new metagame there simply won't be the same conditions that made the old Angels powerful ever again. You either need board control in Tidespout or ability-to-win control in Platinum. There simply isn't a grey area anymore. Welder is just one card, and at bare minimum I have Chalice and counters to deal with them, as well as my usual assortment of post-board options. Again, we have no idea how prevalent Welder may be, and that could force the deck to adopt a different creature or not. We shall see.
1) And I have Wastes and an extra land tutor, plus Tinker to trump the entire war altogether.
2) Angel hardcasts easier and comes out via Tinker as well as Oaths.
3) I can always pitch them to Thirst, plus I can use Chalice @ 2 and beat you to death with Factory or Tinker. You have several dead cards as well, and an equal number of ways to pitch them. Mine cost mana, sure, but yours cost land drops, making Chalice for 0 and even Null Rod all the more potent against you. You realize
that your mana is light enough that a well placed Wasteland and Mox-disabler could potentially cripple you. Sure Bazaar digs, but you only have so many Islands. And Deep Analysis is useless when you don't have 1U laying around to use. Don't worry about the Orchard war. Worry about me beating you to death with Factories and spirit tokens while I simply keep Oath off the table entirely.
I want to make a general note on the Bazaar engine. Sure it looks cute, but I really wonder why you would put it in Oath of all decks, Steve. Oath is horribly land-drop dependent to the point where I strongly considered adding Fastbond into the main even without Gush or any other synergy. Opening with Bazaar largely cuts off your ability to make the turn 1 plays Oath depends on to stay alive, eg; Duress or Oath. My advice would be at bare minimum to add Lotus Petal. You have DA to make up for the card disadvantage and it works so well with first turn Bazaar that I have no idea why it wouldn't make the cut in your list.
