M4A1-S | Basilisk (Battle-Scarred)

The M4A1-S | Basilisk in Battle-Scarred (BS) has a rare quirk. The finish's float tops out at 0.68, so its lowest wear is cut off at the upper end. The skin is Restricted and belongs to The Vanguard Collection; the Operation Vanguard Weapon Case is where the rifle drops. In this wear the band runs from 0.45 to 0.68.

What the M4A1-S | Basilisk looks like in Battle-Scarred

The rifle stays close to a single tone: a dark gray body with a cold bluish cast. The design is a pale engraving, one shade lighter than the base. A thin line along the side of the receiver coils into a snake with loops, and three lines run down onto the magazine. The suppressor is slightly lighter than the body and covered in rows of dimpled notches, and the magazine and grip are dark gray. The snake has no color, only an outline, so it reads up close rather than from afar.

The lines are thin and light, and scuffs hit them first: the edges of the receiver sides, the ribs of the magazine and the rim of the handguard. On flat surfaces the engraving lasts longer. The finish has low contrast, and in Battle-Scarred a rubbed-away line merges with the gray ground. Wear is set at the drop, and a copy stays as it fell.

Where the M4A1-S | Basilisk came from

The finish is credited to the artist Gaunt, and the Workshop submission, titled "M4A1-S | Basilisk", was put up by BRZF on October 20, 2014. Of his work the author wrote that engraved and polished steel covers the top and bottom of the receiver, the outer barrel, the carrying handle and the front sight. The basilisk is shown in a "dark ages" style: a four-eyed king of snakes with two legs, whose gaze turns to stone and whose breath is poisonous. The skin was released on November 11, 2014, and Valve launched Operation Vanguard the next day. In Valve's catalog the finish is number 383.

What to check before buying

Before paying, it is worth checking:

• the float: listings between 0.45 and 0.68 differ noticeably in look;


• a name tag and stickers, which stay with the listing on this skin.

What the M4A1-S | Basilisk costs in Battle-Scarred

The prices across wears run unusually for this finish. Well-Worn costs 1.23 times as much as Battle-Scarred, and Field-Tested only 1.04 times, almost level. Minimal Wear costs about a third more, and Factory New more than three times as much. Battle-Scarred takes 34 percent of the finish's float scale, a wide band because the lowest wear is capped at 0.68.

Among Restricted M4 skins with a price in this wear, this finish costs more than all the others. The nearest in price, Flashback, costs less than half as much, and Glitched Paint, Liquidation, Electrum and Night Terror are cheaper still by several times.

Getting the M4A1-S | Basilisk

The skin drops from the Operation Vanguard Weapon Case. The route without buying is a trade-up: ten Mil-Spec skins go in from anywhere, and the result comes from the collection of one of the inputs. Ten skins entirely from Vanguard steer the result to that set, but that is the player's choice, not a condition.

StatTrak and Souvenir

The M4A1-S | Basilisk has a StatTrak version, and no Souvenir packages exist for the finish.

Stickers and craft on the M4A1-S | Basilisk

A dark gray ground without colored patches suits any sticker: bright ones stand out on it, and the thin engraved snake does not compete for attention. A large sticker on the side of the receiver would cover the snake, so on this finish it goes nearer the handguard or on the magazine. For a CS2 sticker set it is a calm base.

Who this wear suits

Buying the M4A1-S | Basilisk in Battle-Scarred makes sense if:

• you want the snake engraving on a dark M4 and the low contrast of a worn look does not bother you;


• you value a wear that differs from Field-Tested in price by no more than a few percent;


• you are interested in a float from the upper part of the finish's scale, where the 0.68 ceiling makes the range unusual for CS2.