The formation of a Fischer-type transition metal complex with a W(CO)(5) fragment is evaluated for the phosphanylcarbenes, Arduengo-type carbenes, and Bertrand-type carbenes by means of quantum chemical investigations at a density functional level with effective core potential methods. Accordingly, the stabilities of the complexes depend strongly on the substitution pattern of the carbenic unit. Amino-substituted carbenes as well as the Arduengo-type carbene form stable transition metal complexes. The stabilities of the complexes decrease for the phosphanylcarbenes and are at a minimum for the hitherto unknown transition metal complexes of the push-pull-type carbene of Bertrand. The matter is analyzed in terms of distortion energies required to bring the carbene units into the geometrical standard state for complexation with the transition metal fragment. The arguments evaluated for the phosphanylcarbenes should hold equally well for other carbenes substituted with electropositive ligands. For the mono-phosphanylcarbenes, eta (1) as well as eta (2) structures are investigated. For the diphosphanylcarbenes, a new structural type of metal complexes is predicted in which the transition metal fragment is strongly bound to a cyclic structural valence isomer of the carbene.