Leo and his builds

I mean, a bladetome will boost his damage without the need to rely on Fierce Stance, meaning that you can run something like another DD there. He's like Elise because he is really sub par until cavalry buffs are factored in, and bladetomes on an emblem team are almost a no-brainer (except in cases like Armor Emblem, where an owl tome is better if you run triple ward, or meta checks) due to the amount of buff flying around, granting a bladetome unit +12 damage (or 18 is it is a hone) from a single unit.

He can make either work, it depends on his iv's and what do you want to use him for. And for your best build, double distant def and Iceberg is much better imo.

And talk we shall, my brother!

The way I compare Leo to Elise is that when using both on player phase (let’s face it, they are more player phase than enemy phase unless Leo runs CC, or Leo has multiple 5* SI investment), Elise prevents counterattacks with a wrazzle/dazzle combo. Leo, on the other hand, prevents only follow-ups from ranged foes only through his refinement. Even without considering refinement, Leo had OG gravity. Elise had gravity+. That’s how I compared the 2, and came to the conclusion that on player phase, Elise is simply better from that aspect. Enemy phase considered, Leo can be much more sustainable, but I am going to approach that point below.

Leo also draws comparison to Sigurd in the sense that his refinement ditches the gravity effect and then gives him a 30% reduction in magic damage taken, similar to Sigurd and his 50% first hit reduction. Leo is slightly worse off here as well, since Sigurd can stop 50% of magic and then 80% if any ranged attack on the second hit, which Leo can partially do with a fully upgraded deflect seal.

In terms of investment vs. return, I stand by the bladetome build. Here is his build for me right now:

+atk-res (+1 merged)
Raourblade+
Reposition
Glimmer
Death blow 3
QR3
Hone Cavalry
Attack +3 seal

With that build, on player phase, he hits for 85 attack. That translates to 102 advantage and 68 disadvantage. This build is strong enough to kill any green unit, almost all reds/colorless, and a large chunk of blues. The only 5* skill obtained through SI was Raourblade+, and when ran alongside my other 2 blade originals (Cecilia and Ursula) and complemented by Elise, the team is literally an unstoppable force. Only 3-4 Brave Lyn running Sacae’s Blessing would be a real threat to this team (I have worked around and killed 2 Brave Lyn flawlessly in an arena test run before). That is why I am a firm believer his blade build is his best. There’s a lot of versatility in the build as well, since you can run CC and close/distant def seal to ensure that (in my Leo’s case) he trades a drop to 76 attack for enemy phase defense of 37/38 def/res, even with a bane in resistance, which is still 31/32 against the non-targeted unit type.

I just can’t see passing up pure firepower with 75+ attack potential with tanky versatility for a build that doesn’t break 50 attack without an attack boon and a horse buff at the minimum and really only does well against ranged units. Why worry about longevity when you can kill everything you need to before longevity becomes an issue? That’s the way I see it. Leo wants horse emblem, just like how OG blade emblem is complete with Leo.