Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-24357736-20131230135616/@comment-66.206.224.153-20140102201935

I don't think the Dark Angels are the best-trained warriors (I'm biased. Smurfs ftw), but I do think that they are the smartest fighters. See, they have two pretty big advantages over everyone else:

1. They rarely fight the Imperium's wars like they're supposed to (they'll kill some Orks every now and then to keep the Inquisition of their backs, for the most part); they decide when, where, and which enemies to strike.

2. They are mobile; it's very difficult to "hit them where they live" (well, almost "everyone else." A number of chapters are fleet-based. On the other hand, the Dark Angels are actively hiding themselves, so there's that).

Since the Dark Angels usually dictate the time and place of the battle, they don't have to stretch themselves as thin as other chapters. This is why they've packed their best warriors into two companies: they usually only have to be strong when and where they attack, whereas other chapters are responsible for defending the Imperium's territory.

The Dark Angels have few imposed responsibilities/parcels of land to defend, and therefore are stronger when they go after targets (such as the Fallen). Rather than a perpetual war machine, the bulk of the chapter's strength is there as insurance, to ensure the continued existence and influence of the chapter without making any unnecessary commitments, alliances, or enemies, as well as provide candidates for induction into Deathwing or Ravenwing.

The chapter's tight-lipped nature helps here; nobody wants to mess with the Dark Angels because they're numbers are unknown. Their secrecy has also allowed them to exceed the Codex Astartes membership limit, thus more power, a better recruitment pool for 1 and 2 companies (the real fighting arm of the inner circle), and continued supremacy over the Fallen.

Whoever devised the Dark Angels' cuurent chapter organization needs a prize.