Memes / Total War: Warhammer

More than any other entry in either franchise, the Total War: Warhammer Trilogy has spawned a massive amount of memes.

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• The game's portrayal of Karl Franz has become a Fountain of Memes, primarily due to memetic lines such as "Summon the Elector Counts" and "This action has my consent". Similarly, fellow Empire Legendary Lord Balthasar Gelt has his own share of memetic lines, such as "Taste Gold Magic!" and "I am supreme!"
  • Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen! ^ExplanationBalthasar Gelt utters this line in one of his Quest Battles. This line has somehow become associated with Vietnam War-esque/Fortunate Son memes despite Estalia being an analogue to Spain rather than Vietnam.
• Kislev. ^ExplanationWhen the first game came out, this was the only line ever said by Dmitry Tzaryov, the placeholder leader for Kislev during the first two games. Though later patches would get rid of this placeholder line by adding more lines for him to say during diplomacy, the meme nonetheless stuck in the fandom. Became ascended in Total War: Warhammer III, in which Kislev became Promoted to Playable, by being the line that opens up the "Trial by Fire" trailer and ends the Kislev roster reveal.
• Where is Krell?/The Old Friend(s). ^ExplanationWhen the game launched, one of Heinrich Kemmler's lines had him note the absence of his minion Krell. When "The Old Friend" was announced near the end of the first game's lifecycle, fan speculation was at a high until it was leaked (and later revealed) to be Krell himself. The meme had a resurgence in the second game when "Some Old Friends" were announced, who turned out be Gotrek & Felix.
• Surtha Ek, the Everchariot. ^ExplanationWhen the first game launched, one of the major issues on the campaign was that the Norscan A.I.s would frequently spam Marauder Horsemen and Chaos Chariots over anything else in their then-limited unit rosters and send them to steamroll the player. The poster boy of this was Surtha Ek, the leader of the Varg faction, whose chariot doomstacks became The Dreaded among players. While this was eventually patched out, the impact he had on the fandom was sizeable enough that in Total War: Warhammer II, not only did CA name the leader of Tiranoc (the High Elf kingdom that specializes in chariots) Surthara Bel-Kec, but Surtha Ek starts with a chariot mount in the Mortal Empires campaign and has a unique trait should he defeat Settra the Imperishable (and vice versa, since both lords have chariots).
  • "Beyond Your Comprehension!" and "Asinine Mortal!" ^ExplanationSelecting a enemy Marauder Chieftain on the campaign map will result in them saying these lines. These lines became associated with Surtha Ek as players would frequently have to hear them when they checked his army.
• Chaos Ponies. ^ExplanationOne of the major criticisms of the depiction of the Warriors of Chaos was that Chaos Steeds were ridiculously undersized compared to their riders, which became the subject of mockery among the fandom. This lasted all the way until the Immortal Empires update for the third game, which finally resized Chaos Steeds to gargantuan proportions as part of the Warriors of Chaos rework.

  • Chaos Reskins. ^ExplanationEarly promotional material for Tzeentch in the third game showed blatantly reskinned Chaos Knights and Chosen, which drew the ire of the fandom since Khorne had unique models for Chaos Warriors. In particular, the Chosen became the subject of controversy when the Tzeentch roster reveal did not list them at all. This was eventually rectified with the Immortal Empires and Champions of Chaos DLCs, which not only gave Tzeentch warriors their own unique armors (albeit still modified from regular Chaos armor), but finally added Tzeentch Chosen as their own unit.

• It would cost as much as a Charlemagne. ^ExplanationThe Jabberslythe was supposedly not included in Call of the Beastmen due to it being "as costly as all the artwork that went into [the Age of Charlemagne DLC for Total War: Attila]", which attracted quite the amount of mockery from the fandom. The fandom would use this meme as a joking justification for the omission of any centerpiece model. Ascended in the unit overview The Silence and the Fury, which not only added the Jabberslythe and all the missing Beastmen units, but described the Jabberslythe as being "worth as much as a Charlemagne".
• Fucking Toddy! ^ExplanationBoris Todbringer became a Fountain of Memes following a memetic Yogscast skit where Tom dressed up as him and crashed a playthrough while looking for his Arch-Enemy Khazrak the One-eye. As such, the fandom has frequently portrayed Todbringer as a Large Ham who is solely obsessed with defeating Khazrak. Some of his phrases such as "Cardio beats Chaos" and "He took my fucking eye" became popular among the fandom as well.
  • Playable Sarthorael/Boris/Red Duke when?^ExplanationThese three characters are unique in that they are Legendary Lords who are not playable on the campaign, having been introduced as Unlockable Content for beating the different campaigns in the first game. Naturally, fans have been demanding them to be fully Promoted to Playable on the campaign ever since.
• VLAAAADDDD!!!! ^ExplanationVlad von Carstein was the first Legendary Lord with the ability to provide Vanguard Deployment to his entire army, which allows them to deploy outside of the player deployment zone. Comparisons to Ursarkar E. Creed's "Tactical Genius" meme immediately arose, with many viewing Vlad as either Creed's Fantasy counterpart or protege.
• Many people have noted the resemblance of certain Legendary Lords to certain celebrities. The most notable are comparing Orion to Mel Gibson and Teclis to Benedict Cumberbatch. Inevitably, the latter comparison also brings up Doctor Strange jokes, as Cumberbatch plays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and both Strange and Teclis are among the most prominent magic users in their respective settings. This was ascended in the "Skaven Scribe Reacts" video for Warhammer II's announcement trailer, where the scribe blurts out "Benedict Cumberbatch" upon Teclis making his appearance.
• Optimus Pine. ^ExplanationThe Fan Nickname for Durthu, who is an Ancient Treeman. This extends to his Evil Former Friend Coeddil, whom fans took to calling him "Megatrunk".
• Alberic de Generic. ^ExplanationThe third Bretonnian Legendary Lord was an Unexpected Character mocked by the fandom due to how much of a non-entity he was in the lore and in game, to the point that not only did he not have his trident, but he also shared the same voice clips as the regular Bretonnian Lords. CA has taken subsequent steps to rectify this, such as adding his trident, giving him a new legendary item and named hippogryph mount, and letting him start in Lustria in the Immortal Empires campaign.
• Skaven Don't Exist. ^ExplanationWhile the Skaven being kept a secret has been around in earlier editions of Fantasy, the marketing for the second game ran with this joke in earnest, with the Skaven not being mentioned in the initial announcement barring a single rat appearing in the trailer, and repeated unsubtle teases and denials from the advertising and CA's staff along the way. The fans ran with it as well. This has expanded into memes that describe the Skaven in Blatant Lies, such as them being oddly-shaped Beastmen or them not being there in the first place.
• Darth Malekith. ^ExplanationThe Dark Elves trailer shows Malekith cornering and slaughtering a bunch of helpless High Elf soldiers, leading many to compare it to the Signature Scene at the end of Rogue One when Vader does the same to a bunch of Rebel soldiers. The fact that Malekith himself exhibits many traits of Vader only serves to amplify the comparison. This is acknowledged in the campaign, where one of Malekith's lines is "I hate snow".
• Speaking of movie references, CA's trend of putting popular movie references in their trailers (mainly for Lord Packs) has caught the eye and ear of several fans. The most memetic one yet was perhaps the trailer for The Warden and the Paunch, which homaged The Dark Knight for Eltharion and Mad Max: Fury Road for Grom. Naturally, jokes about "Immortan Grom" and "Eltharion the Dark Knight" became pretty popular among the fandom shortly after the trailer drop.
• Skaven can into space. ^{Explanation (Spoilers)}The events of the Vortex Campaign are revealed to have been instigated by the Skaven sending a ramshackle spacecraft into orbit to destabilize it.
• Lustriabowl. ^ExplanationLustria in the Vortex Campaign became infamous for the amount of factions that would start in it, with players coming to expect inevitable conflict should they play one of those factions. Similar terms have also been used to describe other areas of the campaign where many factions are present.
• Araby when? ^ExplanationAraby was highly expected by many to be Promoted to Playable in the second game, especially since they had a Warmaster army list. To the surprise of many, Araby was never made playable, with CA officially deconfirming it and its lands on the campaign being occupied by other races.
  • Nippon/Ind/Khuresh when? ^ExplanationAfter Cathay was announced as a playable race for the third game, many fans hoped that the other three eastern factions would be Promoted to Playable via DLC. While CA has stated it would be extremely unlikely for them to repeat their success with convincing GW to make Cathay playable, fans still hold out hope for them to become playable at some point.
• Roomba of Doom. ^ExplanationThe Caskets of Souls moves around on a mounds of swirling bones, which has led many fans to compare them to roombas.
  • DJ Khatep. ^ExplanationGrand Hierophant Khatep has a Casket of Souls as a unique mount, which has led to many comparing him to a DJ whenever he fires it.
• The Tattered Sails Shanty. ^ExplanationThe theme that plays in the Vampire Coast trailer has become quite popular among the fans, which has caused the faction to win over much of the fanbase many despite being an Ascended Extra.
  • Similarly, the theme that plays in the Ogre Kingdoms trailer has also become memetic among the fandom for how catchy it is despite the intentional Stylistic Suck. Many have joked that CA should become a music company due to how good their trailer music can be.
• Have a little faith! ^ExplanationMarkus Wulfhart says this line in The Hunter and the Beast trailer, which the playerbase viewed as Lampshade Hanging as it came out roughly five months after the last DLC.
• "High Elves are a Proud Warrior Race and by using a refusing to use a staunch line of spears you are disgracing the race. You should be ashamed of yourself for constantly min/maxing the game to intentionally destroy yours and your viewer's immersion. The AI is designed to give the player a challenge not to be abused by a scummy cheeser with no respect to the units and lore provided by GW." ^ExplanationA copypasta that originated in a comment in this video. Fans have used it in relation to any lore-breaking tactics one might be using, including cheesing the AI.
• After Henry Cavill revealed he was an avid player of Total War: Warhammer II, memes mashing him up with both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 became wildly popular due to the Colbert Bump. These memes usually ended up doing Comic-Book Fantasy Casting with him as either the Emperor of Mankind or Karl Franz. Ascended with The Warden and the Paunch, which gives Eltharion's faction a unique named Loremaster of Hoeth named Cavill who has the trait "White Wolf", referencing his role as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher (2019).
• Centigor Milk. ^ExplanationOne of the possible ingredients for Grom's cauldron. Fans have ran with what it could possibly be.
• Imrik Targaryen. ^ExplanationImrik is a blonde Elven noble who is a Dragon Rider and whose campaign allows him to tame different dragons. Naturally, jokes comparing him to Daenerys Targaryen have become somewhat popular.
  • Rakarth Bolton. ^ExplanationRakarth is voiced by Iwan Rheon, who played Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones, as a Casting Gag (both are sadistic torturers of men and animals). Naturally, memes lampshading the comparison quickly arose, such as him having a hydra named "20 Good Men" or the image of Ramsay holding a sausage being replaced with any sort of monster from the game.
• Ogres, my lord! ^ExplanationThe Advisor says this line every time the player encounters Ogre Mercenaries in the campaign. As Ogre Mercenaries were an Early-Bird Cameo for the Ogre Kingdoms to come in the second game, fans began using this line to in response to their eventual announcement.
• Bears. Bears everywhere. ^ExplanationMany have noted the proliferation of bears in the redesign for Kislev. The fact that the roster reveal mentioned that the only mounts for all their lords were just Warhorses and War Bears only served to fuel the jokes. Many have compared this to the Flanderization that the Space Wolves got in Warhammer 40,000, only wolves have been replaced with bears.
  • Similarly, the Kislevite War Sleds (which rest on beds of magical ice and are pulled by bears), have caused some manner of debate among the fandom. Some have mocked them for how absurd their design is from both an aesthetic and lore standpoint, while others argue that it would still fit the setting.
• Kostaltyn, Kislev's Greatest Love Machine. ^ExplanationThe second Kislevite Legendary Lord was a No Historical Figures Were Harmed version of Rasputin the Mad Monk. Inevitably, jokes flew relating to the Boney M song.
• Battle of the Fat Lords. ^ExplanationFans have taken note of the amount of visibly fat Legendary lords who have been added to the game, starting with Lord Mazdamundi, who was followed by Grom the Paunch. The third game introduced, Ku'gath Plaguefather, Festus the Leechlord, and Greasus Goldtooth, and the fans have ran with hypothetical matchups or teamups between the four. Sometimes, Dong Zhuo from Total War: Three Kingdoms is thrown in despite not being from Warhammer.
  • Chin Lords. ^ExplanationSome fans draw attention not to said Legendary Lords' bulk but instead their equally large chins. In particular, Festus's chin has led to quite a large amount of memes.
• Dragon Mommy. ^ExplanationThe Fan Nickname for Miao Ying, the Supreme Matriarch of Nan-Gau. It has become popular among the fandom to to pair her up with Imrik, with memes joking how Imrik traveled all the way to Cathay to court her.
• Zhao Ming is Zuko. ^ExplanationMany fans have noted how Zhao Ming bears multiple similarities to Prince Zuko, such as being The Unfavorite child of his royal family with a difficult relationship with his father and getting Reassigned to Antarctica, being able to control fire, and being the "Dragon of the West" (a title used by Zuko's Cool Uncle Iroh, while Zhao Ming is a Were Dragon who rules over Cathay's Western Provinces). To a lesser extent, his sister Miao Ying gets Azula comparisons, as she is the favored child of the family, has a cold and aloof nature, and has lightning powers.
• Nurgling Megazords. ^ExplanationThe "Covenant with Chaos" trailer features Nurglings combining into a makeshift "mecha" of sorts, which was later clarified to be one of their unique animations. Inevitably, comparisons have been made to media with Combining Mecha such as Transformers, Power Rangers, and Voltron.
• "I have the knowledge you crave! But all pleasure...Has a price!" ^ExplanationThe Nightmare Sequence in the "Covenant with Chaos" trailer ends with N'kari reaching out to the Advisor to offer him what he seeks before he can close the book that is causing him to experience the vision. Edits of N'kari's outstretched hand have become popular, with the edits replacing what is being offered in their hand.
• Daniel the Daemon Prince. ^ExplanationThe official Let's Plays for the God Slayer gave him the unassuming name of "Daniel". The fandom latched onto how hilariously out-of-place the name was, and it became sort of an Affectionate Nickname for him. Ascended during the ''Immortal Empires'' Map First Look, where the Advisor says "Sometimes, carried on the whisper of an ice-laced breeze, he hears the name...Daniel" when the flyover gets to him.
• Nakai the very lost. ^ExplanationNakai the Wanderer's start position in Immortal Empires is in southern Cathay, which is quite the distance from Lustria.
• Azazel's Reaction. ^ExplanationAzazel makes a very eager expression near the end of his trailer when he descends to confront the Chaos Lord of Khorne. The fandom has oftentimes compiled together his various expressions from his trailer in a manner similar to Brock Lesnar's reaction.
• The Vilitch People. ^ExplanationA Pun that became popular immediately after the release of Vilitch's trailer.
• Valkia the Bloodied. ^ExplanationDue to her trailer not coming out on time for several hours, coupled with it depicting her seemingly being dogpiled by an group of Slaaneshi warriors, Valkia the Bloody has become somewhat of a Memetic Loser in the eyes of the fandom.
• The Doom Skink ^Explanation A fan nickname for Oxyotl, due to his backstory of surviving in the Realm of Chaos while wreaking havok on the Ruinous Powers all throughout. Naturally, comparisons between him and the Doom Slayer quickly popped up.