User blog comment:FairyRaven/Fairy Tail Chapter 360:The White Inheritance, Review and Commentary/@comment-1359322-20131115104132/@comment-7418318-20131115170645

We only know that Layla was a mage and on very good terms with her spirits and nothing more.

We don't know if she was powerful or if she was even able to summon two spirits.

But I agree that Lucy really is strong. From ALL the Fairy Tail members (including Romeo!!!) she's the one who's been a Wizard for the shortest time and the situations in which she lost or almost lost always had the odds stacked against her in some way or the other. And unlike the other members of her team, she doesn't get a Nakama boost every other chapter.