4/5 stars. (The rules are strong).
Warlord Traits.
Tyrant of the Apolokron.
An easy way to grab Fearless for the warlord and his unit and grants a bonus shooting reaction. This comes with the draw back of having to fire and attempt a charge at the nearest unit. Although strong on paper, I think a canny opponent that has swifter units could lead the warlord on a merry chase all of the game. Hence use with care.
Tyrant of the Dodekathon.
Nominate a terrain feature - for area terrain it becomes more deadly and doesn't provide cover, and for buildings there's a +1 damage modifier. There's also the handy additional shooting reaction. I think this warlord trait will be the default one to consider and is in some ways reminiscent of the old shatter defences. Since its used after set up, it is a great way to reduce the effectiveness of an enemy holed up inside fortification and when combined with other Iron Warriors legion rules can be amazing.
Tyrant of the Lyssatra.
Gaining an additional shot is very strong even if things get hot. The draw back is the Bitter Fury or Return Fire reaction must be made and no other reaction by the unit other than Interceptor can be done. Ultimately this is a good trait to have and when combined with other rules such as the Hammer of Olympia Rite of War will make it really stand out.
Rites of War.
The Hammer of Olympia.
This rite of war exhibits good similarities to the First edition one. The Fury of Olympia is strong - an extra attack by tactical squads is excellent. Take plenty of them. Many vehicles get to ignore shaken and stunned which is superb. As if that were not enough re-rolling rolls to hit of a 1 with shrapnel weapons is similarly strong (but obviously depends on the player using such weapons). The drawbacks are not really concerning - a warsmith is probably going to be run anyway and the lack of deep strike is not a great concern when you have such fire power at your disposal. March forth and conquer.
The Ironfire.
The focus here is on artillery. Arquitor squadrons become compulsory troops, barrages become more accurate at close range, infantry potentially gain stubborn here and there depending on close range fire and the re-rolling of saves against blasts is simply amazing and very unique. Having to take a Siege Breaker and no deep striking (plus an inferior number of cavalry) is a small price to pay here. This is yet another strong rite.
Note here that all of the Traits and Rites are equally accessible to Loyalist and Traitor alike, as befits the most split legion of them all.
Difference to First Edition.
Improved somewhat. The rules have had a re-working here. I can see many armies will go for Lysstra in combination with Hammer of Olympia and this is an amazingly strong shooting army if constructed well enough and played optimally. The Iron Warriors in second edition are looking strong to my mind.
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