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Memes

‘Blood for the Blood God!’ How the Warhammer battle cry became a meme

Skulls for the skull god!

Photo of Angela Andaloro

Angela Andaloro

Blood for the blood god meme

Blood For The Blood God is a battle cry from the miniature tabletop game Warhammer 40,000, said by the Chaos Space Marines faction. It’s used online as a rallying cry, sometimes employed when fandoms have good news, when sports teams have a tense game, and more.

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Meme basics:

  • Meme Creator: @llIlIllIlllIllIlIllI/Youtube
  • Meme Type: Macro, Gaming
  • First Appearance: March 2011
  • Origin Source: YouTube
  • Peak Popularity: March 2024
blood for the blood god google trends
Google Trends
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What does Blood For The Blood God mean?

The sci-fi dystopian miniature tabletop wargame dates back to 1987. The game has a serious fandom that spans both tabletop and video games, novels, TV shows, films, and merchandise.

The phrase is the war cry of the Chaos Space Marines faction, which is dedicated to worshipping Khorne, one of the Four Gods of Chaos. As a Chaos God, he particularly represents war, hatred, wrath, rage, murder, blood, and more.

blood for the blood god
@llIlIllIlllIllIlIllI/YouTube
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When a faction member kills someone, they scream, “Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne!” This “reflects the god’s desire for wanton violence,” per the canon philosophy.

Origin and spread

Scenes, including the warcry, were uploaded to YouTube in 2011, which increased the phrase’s awareness on the Internet. In July 2012, the phrase appeared in a motivational poster meme that also helped it spread more widely.

khorne
@orcboss16/Deviant Art
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'says 'blood for the blood god' fears nothing' meme
@orcboss16/Deviant Art

2024 meme resurgence

In March 2024, Warhammer 40k released its 10th edition, which renewed interest in the game and passion in the fandom. Discussions of gameplay, along with tournaments celebrating the milestone, caused the memes to recirculate.

There’s also the late 2023 news that Henry Cavill is attached to a Warhammer 40,000 series for Amazon Prime. Though reportedly there have been snags in the road regarding development, fans are hopeful things will change before the contract between Games Workshop and Amazon concludes.

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Meme examples

anime blood for the blood god
AR15
turkey for the turkey gods
AR15
advice wolf when life gives you lemons blood for the blood god
AR15
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blood for the blood god bathroom underwear gif
@youmomgay/Tenor
blood with the blood god drawing
@youmomgay/Tenor
'i promise i won't talk about religion,' three drinks later 'blood for the blood god'
@youmomgay/Tenor
tortoise eating berry blood for the blood god
u/kcarr586 via Reddit
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'remember when life give you lemon blodo for the blood gods'
u/kcarr586 via Reddit
squirrel blood for the blood god
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period blood for the blood god
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blood for the blood god buddy
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warhammer blood for the blood god
@VENEX/IMGFLIP

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