leanne is actually a pretty good heavy , and will outperform the likes of garret (which is a gold heavy for example). Even if u got a bernice/gellius at the start , you will still need a cc-ed leanne , since there are events that require 2 heavies at least. You could also use a bernard , but he has around 50 or 60 less defense then a leanne (he has 200-300 more hp tho , so its a better magic tank) , but male units are harder to max aff