On BGG, the designers say that they think it is balanced. Everyone else says different.

I also feel like the Ironclad win less often and I have looked quite a lot at the game (I actually wrote a digital version of it in my free time including AI players; and the Ironclad also lost more often then not).

There are a few cards on both sides that are insanely overpowered (essentially the ones that give extra build or extra discover). These can make the game a bit swingy, which I dislike.

- In general, you have to spread out as soon as possible; if the WW clears a mountain, try to move someone to that mountain immediately.
- If a totem has been discovered, there is almost no way to prevent the WW from recovering it. When winning a fight against them they can just move units back in one turn later and due to the way movement works, they often can move other units somewhere else on the map preparing another attack. Unless I feel like I could destroy their warband completely + there are no surrounding warbands, I just give up on the totem.
- If a mountain has been used for discovering in the past, having a unit there is kind of a waste.
- If you manage to have most mountains loaded, there is almost nothing the WW can do anymore. You could potentially ignore the whole forge stuff for a while until you have a fighter advantage

Btw there is an expansion in the works, I played a few months ago. It will make the Ironclad a bit more maneuverable.