Bungie is back with a revised Iron Banner. You can read the gist at Bungie.Net, which will guide you through what numbers count in Saladin's playdate and what rewards are possible. Beorn pointed out on our forum that the Tempered buff activates immediately when you purchase it - it isn't an item you choose to activate.
Bungie's also streaming their gameplay starting at 11:00 AM Pacific, so go watch that if you can't partake just yet.