Strength of the pre-Primarch First Legion

[Azorius]

1. There were thousands of 'proto-Astartes' participated in purging of Thunder Warriors bolstered by hundreds of Custodes. And these thousands of proto-Astartes later become founders of the Primaris Angelus Mortis. 

 

2) Even without Primarch, they were much more numerous than the Luna Wolves, who already reunited with their Primarch and received primacy right of use of Luna gene-labs as reward of Pacification of Luna. 

 

3) Before Third Rangdan Xenocide, First Legion was the most powerful single Imperial force without doubt, and boasted some 216,000 Astarte, in spite of they took the blunt of each Rangdan Xenocide - and they rebuilt their former strength under leadership of the Lion. 

 

How is that possible? 'Because they are the First, Primus Legion ever created' seems insufficient answer to me - since that gives them an edge of merely thousands of Astartes, not tens of thousands. 

 

Any speculation and conjecture? 

[helterskelter]

There's a little snippet in angels of caliban talking about Astelan who was one of the first 1st legion astartes

 

his mind seems to have been shielded by the emperor in a scene where zahariel tries to probe in, with pretty angry effects for zahariel

 

 

Emps gave favour to the first perhaps?

[Lord_Ikka]

Well, numerically the DA were stronger than most because they were the 1st Legion, in every sense of the word.

 

Before the Xenocides/Lion, they benefitted from starting out as the only Space Marines, directly created by the Emperor and his genesmiths. Their numbers were large because they were the only ones present, so all Space Marines created went into their ranks at the beginning. After the other legions were created, the DA were still large because they didn't have the "working up" phase that the others had to go through before being committed to the Great Crusade- they were ready at the very beginning.

 

As for building up their strength after the Xenocides, the Imperium turned Caliban into one giant military barracks essentially. Quite a large percentage of the population were either inducted into the Imperial Army, trained as Dark Angels, or started serving in some capacity as factory workers or artisans for the Legion/Army. I don't think any other Primarch's world was quite as transformed as Caliban after the Emperor came- the forests were cut down and the populace were turned into a military machine.

[Azorius]

Well, numerically the DA were stronger than most because they were the 1st Legion, in every sense of the word.

 

Before the Xenocides/Lion, they benefitted from starting out as the only Space Marines, directly created by the Emperor and his genesmiths. Their numbers were large because they were the only ones present, so all Space Marines created went into their ranks at the beginning. After the other legions were created, the DA were still large because they didn't have the "working up" phase that the others had to go through before being committed to the Great Crusade- they were ready at the very beginning.

 

As for building up their strength after the Xenocides, the Imperium turned Caliban into one giant military barracks essentially. Quite a large percentage of the population were either inducted into the Imperial Army, trained as Dark Angels, or started serving in some capacity as factory workers or artisans for the Legion/Army. I don't think any other Primarch's world was quite as transformed as Caliban after the Emperor came- the forests were cut down and the populace were turned into a military machine.

 

So because DA already possessed everything, including gene-seed replication and transplant facilities, they did not need to have access of Luna gene-labs? 

[Brother-Captain Gilead]

I also remember reading something about the fact the geneseed of the First was just universally better due to it being more stable and compatible. It meant that of all individuals that were eligible to become space marines by merit, very few would be turned down in the beginning due to genetic incompatibility or would crash and burn as the genetic incompatibility manifested later in the progress of becoming a space marine. Thus the Dark Angels would already be able to produce more space marines from a comparable amount of prospects than other legions and then they received a massive influx of potential recruits from the population of Caliban. Now that I think about it, there is also that one image Forgeworld published where the First also had tertiary recruitment rights to Terra and that would also be a massive influx of potential recruits.

[Azorius]

I also remember reading something about the fact the geneseed of the First was just universally better due to it being more stable and compatible. It meant that of all individuals that were eligible to become space marines by merit, very few would be turned down in the beginning due to genetic incompatibility or would crash and burn as the genetic incompatibility manifested later in the progress of becoming a space marine. Thus the Dark Angels would already be able to produce more space marines from a comparable amount of prospects than other legions and then they received a massive influx of potential recruits from the population of Caliban. Now that I think about it, there is also that one image Forgeworld published where the First also had tertiary recruitment rights to Terra and that would also be a massive influx of potential recruits.

Precisely. Tempest explicitly states in terms of stability, compatibility and replicability(in other words, gene-seed resilience) only the Ultramarines gene-seed has comparable quality, though its implantation success rate is close to median spectrum. 

[Jackalwolf]

Emperor's Children was the best geneseed along with the XIII and the first. Problem is all of it burnt :)

[Guest Drekkan]

Emperor's Childrens were nearly destroy by geneseed problem, so best geneseed for them seem quiet a strech..

 

On the other hand DA still have the best geneseed in 40k.

[Brother-Captain Gilead]

Emperor's Children was the best geneseed along with the XIII and the first. Problem is all of it burnt

I don't think they had the best geneseed, they had the best practices surrounding their use of geneseed. This happened by necessity, as they had so very little of the stuff around, they really needed to ensure that the fridge door was always closed and that nobody sneezed in the same room where they kept the stuff. After Fulgrim left Fabius to his own devices the game was up though and their geneseed regressed back into the mess where it was.

[Trevak Dal]

You would think their numbers would be less if they were the first and only legion for a long period of time because they would be called on in every instance that a super soldier army would be needed, which was All The Time.

[Brother-Captain Gilead]

You would think their numbers would be less if they were the first and only legion for a long period of time because they would be called on in every instance that a super soldier army would be needed, which was All The Time.

On one hand yes, but on the other hand since the creation of space marines is heavily linked to the number of space marines you already have, I don't think it would work that way. Based on what we know, Forgeworld seems to imply that the headstart that the DA got meant that they had tens of thousands of space marines that carried twice that number in progenoid glands while the other legions were in their hundreds or thousands. Basically it comes down to the fact that each generation of space marines is twice the size of the last one (barring any lost geneseed or implantation accidents), and apparently DA got several dozen generations in while the other legions, even the earlier ones, were being created.