I can see Leo Anderson being a popular investigator with a lot of people. There's a lot to like about him: he's got strong stats in the areas that many players care about the most, he's got a focus on ally cards (which are normally considered quite important), and he's got an easy-to-understand card pool containing some good Guardian weapons.

I'm surprised there haven't been more reviews on him on this site, so I thought I'd put in my two cents.

Stats

Leo Anderson's stats are as follows:

• 4 - This is a great defensive stat. Leo doesn't currently have many ways to actively leverage this stat, but Guardian investigators usually have notoriously low sanity pools, and failing tests is one way to take a lot of sanity damage.
• 3 - Given that Guardian investigators are normally here to fight and not investigate, this is actually a pretty reasonable stat. With a Flashlight in hand, he can manage to pull a few clues through investigate actions.
• 4 - this is what Guardian investigators are usually here to do! This stat is on par with most of the other investigators in this class. With a weapon in hand, Leo is able to go toe-to-toe with most enemies.
• 1 - This stat is pretty low. Leo Anderson might go a whole scenario without passing a single test. However, this shortcoming is manageable if you work around it - normally by fighting instead of evading, for example.

I'm a big believer in the idea that, in most cases, having high stats and low stats is better than having all average stats. I think Leo Anderson's stats are very good. This is the stat distribution Roland Banks wishes he had!

Leo's health and sanity totals are fine. Sanity is typically more desirable in most Arkham Horror scenarios, but a lot of damage is accumulated from failed tests, so I think Leo benefits from having a larger health pool.

Overall, Leo's stats help him power through and get stuff done. He can use his , his to ward off horror-inducing treacheries, pick up the occasional clue with his , and his health lets him endure tests failed by his low .

Deck Requirements

Leo Anderson has access to Guardian cards level 0 through 5 and Rogue cards level 0 through 2.

The Guardian card pool offers a lot of excellent options for combat. Because of his ability, Leo is going to want a lot of allies, and Beat Cop and Venturer are standout level 0 ally cards for him from the Guardian faction since they improve his ability to fight and use items. This class also gives him access to a lot of good weapons. I think Leo Anderson is most effective when he focuses on his strong Guardian cards.

Rogue cards might seem like an awkward fit for an investigator with a stat of 1. However, Leo wants ally cards, and ally cards can be expensive - Rogue cards can be a great way for him to boost his income. Lone Wolf is a great option for him since it can greatly increase his resources over the course of a scenario, and Sleight of Hand can let him get more mileage out of items with limited uses for a very cheap price. While he doesn't have access to Hot Streak (4), Hot Streak (2) can normally set him for the game if its played at the right time. Of course, there's also the ever-popular Leo De Luca - I can see a Leo/Leo team-up being an attractive option for a lot of players, especially since Leo Anderson can play allies more cheaply.

For card upgrades, Charisma was practically made for Leo Anderson. While it's possible to play this investigator without having purchased the Essex County Express mythos pack, I think it would make things much more difficult. Leo Anderson wants allies! Charisma gives you the ally slots you need to get them into play more easily.

Signature Cards

For his unique cards, Leo Anderson has a fairly strong signature card with a relatively mild Weakness card.

Mitch Brown lets Leo play more allies which is very important. I often consider using Calling in Favors to try and draw him out sooner rather than later. Mitch can only host non-unique allies, though, which is a knock against Leo De Luca. However, I like that it subtly focuses players and rewards them for creating an expedition of generic, faceless men. While Mitch doesn't do much on his own, he enables you to do things like play a Beat Cop to help you fight while you have a Venturer keep your firearms reloaded, and it's those situations where Leo really starts to shine.

Bought in Blood can be a little annoying, but it is not as bad as other signature Weakness cards like Cover Up or Crisis of Identity. If Bought in Blood causes you to discard an Ally from play, it's almost like an automatically-failed Crypt Chill. If it causes you to discard Ally cards from your hand, it's almost like a milder version of Amnesia. If it can't do either of these things, then you're either playing Leo Anderson in a very unusual way or you're already having terrible luck! In that case, it's a dead draw, which is pretty much just a one-action penalty with the potential for it to come back and get you again later. As far as Weakness cards go, it's generally pretty manageable when it shows up.

Special Ability

In my opinion, Leo Anderson has an awesome ability. While you probably won't be able to trigger it every turn, it does offer some incredible efficiency. It saves an action and a resource every time! That's pretty nice. It also lets Leo play an ally asset without triggering an attack of opportunity. This is a big deal - it means Leo can let an ally get soak damage/horror, get discarded, and then get replaced with a new ally without getting hit with any extra attacks. In the right situation, this can be incredible.

Leo Anderson is a very difficult investigator for enemies to kill. Right from the start of a campaign, if he can play Mitch Brown early in a scenario, he can get 3 allies out. Ideally, these allies will be played out over a few turns so he can play them at a discount and without using actions. With most of Leo's allies having 2 damage soak and 2 horror soak, that means he essentially has an additional 6 soak for damage and horror. That's as much as Calvin Wright and Lola Hayes each have for their base damage and horror tolerance! (A caveat - while he might be a good candidate for Charon's Obol, his inability to run away from enemies still makes this a risky purchase for him. When Leo Anderson fights, it's a fight to the death!)

Leo Anderson's ability is ok. It normally lets you pass the check, which is nice, and you occasionally get an ally draw out of it, which is good too. Not the best ability but still solid.

Conclusion

Leo Anderson is a different kind of Guardian. Roland Banks is about killing enemies as a means to get clues; Zoey Samaras and Mark Harrigan are about killing enemies as efficiently as possible. Leo Anderson's specialty is, ironically, being a Survivor. He can take all of hits that Arkham Horror throws at him, absorb them, and then fight back. His playstyle is a little different, but very fun - you often do feel like you're managing an expedition when you use him! It's all about managing your items and choosing when to deploy allies at a critical moment. He fulfills his Guardian duties different from the others in his class, but he still does them effectively, and so I'd definitely recommend giving him a try.

Can someone clarify the mining of (Group limit once per game) on such cards? This means group can get succeed result once per game or group can TRY to get succeed result once per game? And if first attempt will be losed this abbility will be inactive for the rest of scenario?

If this card had 3 icons and said "Commit only to a skill test you are performing during the Mythos phase," I would still consider taking this card in some Guardian decks.

This card can do that and it can played to boost some early action checks. I think it's quite good. Guardian characters normally want to go first anyways in order to clear out enemies, so they get good use out of it.

It's true that this card loses a little bit of utility if there are multiple people using it, but I think that it doesn't diminish it enough to say that only one investigator can use it exclusively.

I find this card is easier to consistently use more than Inquiring Mind, Last Chance, and Rise to the Occasion. One thing you can normally count on in Arkham Horror: There will be encounter cards, and they will try to kill you.

I think this card is not a practical option for most investigators, particularly the ones who also have access to Beat Cop.

However, I think that you can make the case that this card has some use in a Leo Anderson deck.

Leo's ability lets him play Hired Muscle without spending a and for one less resource. That means that, if you play Hired Muscle using his ability, it costs essentially nothing for the first turn.

I think that Leo Anderson wants to hold Hired Muscle back and only play him at the start of a turn where he's going to fight. At that point, he can then play him for free (and without provoking attacks of opportunity) and benefit from the +1 for the duration of the turn. Hired Muscle also sticks around for the enemy damage phase, so he should be the first one to take hits, since he's expendable. The "pay to keep" option doesn't come around until the Upkeep phase, and during that time Leo can decide if he wants to pay one resource to retain the help.

It can be convenient to hold Hired Muscle in your hand to help combat Bought in Blood - Leo generally wants to play his allies quickly, but Hired Muscle is more of a combat trick, so if you discard him out of your hand, it's less painful than losing an ally you paid to bring out. If you have no allies in hand, you don't always have that option, so Hired Muscle mitigates that a little bit by living in your hand until you need him.

To the people that say he competes for the coveted ally slot, I would say: you are correct. However, Hired Muscle can take up one of Mitch Brown's 2 non-unique ally slots. Additionally, I would say that Charisma is almost mandatory for a good Leo Anderson deck, and so that should give you some more flexibility. I'm not saying you should get Charisma just for Hired Muscle - I think you should be getting Charisma because it's good for Leo Anderson in general.

Would I use Hired Muscle for any other investigator? Usually, no. For Leo Anderson, though, I can see this card being effective.

Moxie is probably my pick for #2 Composure behind Plucky. It in a faction that loves the pay-to-win mechanic, and it has stats that are generally very useful to those who can take it.

• Sefina is a no-brainer for Mox, as she's basically a Mystic and loves to turn those Painted Streaks into Shrivelling hits.
• Although Jenny seems like a likely candidate, she often enjoys Streetwise, which already comes with a superior booster, so you're taking Mox for the pump. If I could afford the off-faction slots, I'd sooner take Physical Training than Moxie for the complementary stats.
• Skids and Finn both make for surprisingly effective homes for Moxie. By playing either of these gentlemen, you're resigning to fail most tests. However, some are still must-pass, and Mox becomes an "in case of emergency, break glass" tool for help your Frozen in Fear and Rotting Remains woes. The booster is also welcome for either gator.
• Wendy very much enjoys this card as well. Her already good means Mox covers you for any extra difficult willpower tests, and she's obviously going to love the agility help. Wendy has access to economy like Hot Streak(2), and Survivors also don't have a ton of expensive cards to play.
• Leo seems to be least likely on this list to take Mox, mostly because he's very money-hungry and doesn't have the extra cash to fuel this. Also, his is so laughably low that he will have to pay too much during must-pass agility tests.

Overall a situational but effect tool for most investigators.