3.5/5 stars, rounded up. The rules are good and can be powerful in the right hands.
Background.
Virtually unknown outside of the Alpha Legion thanks to leaving few alive to witness their passing, the Lernaeans are the proverbial jaws of the hydra. They are noted to be fearsome in assault as well as excellent at clamping their jaws around an objective and tough to kill.
Strengths.
Two wound terminators, with three wounds on the squad leader is great. Clad in cataphractii armour with It Will Not Die really helps with survival.
Their key special rule is Hydran Exemplars which enable them to select another legion and gain +1 to hit against them (this includes shooting!). It is a pity this doesn't extend to other armies such as Mechanicum and so forth (I feel it should!).
More interesting than any of this is their load out. The volkite chargers are nice and will whittle down targets well enough on average. Power axes as standard is similarly good and the free venom sphere on the harrower is very nice indeed to have. The range of upgrades is entertaining too with access to a conversion beam cannon available -- one of the only legions to have ready access to such technology. If built in this manner, then securing an objective while maintaining fire is a great thing to have. The Harrower is a good option to take a power dagger as well (especially if he also has a chain fist since neither are specialist weapons).
Weaknesses.
The stat line only has WS=4. This is a real problem since the Hydran Exemplars rule does not alter this - it only grants a bonus to hit. Hence they really are at risk in close combat since most terminator squads of other legions have a straight up WS=5. Moreover, their armaments mean that they are usually going to be striking at the lowest initiative. They therefore have to survive in close combat until they get their turn to strike. I would strongly recommend an Apothecary here if the points allow it to make them even more survivable.
Difference to First Edition.
Mixed. Some things are clearly better, whilst others have gone a bit worse. Fundamentally, this is a glass cannon sort of unit. But it can function as one of the best objective sitters in the entire game as well since they have Line (not many other terminators boast this). It is also great for Zone Mortalis games if you play that.
Builds.
5 Lernaeans, 1 Conversion Beamer (265 points).
Sit on the objective whilst blasting things at the opposite side of the board.
5 Lernaeans, 1 power fist, 1 plasma blaster, Harrower with chain fist and power dagger (300 points).
An aggressive build for charging out of a land raider. Note the harrower here has 5 attacks base thanks to the power dagger - very nasty.
10 Lernaeans, 2 volkite culverins, 4 power fists, Harrower with power dagger (530 points).
Getting expensive here, but this is an all round squad which can be remarkably deadly from both a shooting and a close combat point of view. Reduce members by 1 to slot in an apothecary and a land raider spartan.
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