M4A1-S | Black Lotus (Field-Tested)

The M4A1-S | Black Lotus in Field-Tested (FT) is an inexpensive Classified rifle. Of the twelve finishes at that rank, only two ask less. The rank is Classified, and the skin comes out of the Kilowatt Case.

What the M4A1-S | Black Lotus looks like in Field-Tested

The body is purple-lilac, and a woven pattern runs across it. The weave is a scaly mesh, close to snakeskin or to dense embroidery. A dark flower emblem sits on the receiver, on top of the mesh. The suppressor is black and bare, the stock and grip are purple, the magazine dark gray.

There is one color, but it is laid on with depth. The mesh shades from light lilac on the raised parts to nearly black in the recesses. That makes the rifle read as a texture rather than as a picture.

In Field-Tested the mesh rubs away along the receiver ribs and the top of the handguard. The purple lightens there and the weave loses its relief. The flower emblem survives intact, since it lies on a flat panel.

Where the M4A1-S | Black Lotus came from

The author is moonfighter of the Steam Workshop, who posted the submission on September 17, 2023. In his description he explained that this was no new story, but a familiar series rebuilt for CS2. The artwork was redrawn, the materials reassembled, the rendering made physically correct. So the finish existed earlier, and reached the game in this form on February 6, 2024 with the Kilowatt Case.

Valve's note for that update described the case as seventeen community finishes plus the ★ Kukri Knife as the rare item. In Valve's finish catalog the rifle carries number 1166.

What to check before buying

• the float, which shows how far the weave on the raised parts has been flattened;


• the condition of the receiver edge, the first place to go light;


• the stickers and the name already on the copy.

The pattern on the M4A1-S | Black Lotus is fixed, and copies do not differ in artwork.

What the M4A1-S | Black Lotus costs in Field-Tested

The ladder of grades does not run in one direction here. Factory New is asked about three times as much, Minimal Wear nearly twice. The grades below cost more than Field-Tested too: Well-Worn by roughly a third, Battle-Scarred by a few percent. Field-Tested is therefore the cheapest of the five.

Among Classified M4A1-S finishes this one stands third from the bottom of twelve in this grade. Only M4A1-S | Solitude and M4A1-S | Stratosphere come in under it. M4A1-S | Party Animal asks about twice as much, M4A1-S | Nightmare two and a half times.

Getting the M4A1-S | Black Lotus

One route is the Kilowatt Case. The other is a trade-up contract of ten Restricted skins from the same collection. The set holds three Classified finishes, so the output of that contract is random.

StatTrak and Souvenir

Stickers and craft on the M4A1-S | Black Lotus

The M4A1-S | Black Lotus has a StatTrak version. Souvenir copies of the finish turn up as well, though no Souvenir packages were ever made for it: packages only ever covered tournament map collections. Those copies are built with the Souvenir-O-Matic, which puts gold tournament stickers and a player autograph on a normal skin from the inventory.

The purple mesh is a busy background, and small stickers drown in it. White and yellow ones give the contrast the base needs, while purple and blue merge into the weave. For a CS2 craft the suppressor and the stock are free; the receiver with the emblem is better left uncovered.

Who this wear suits

Buying the M4A1-S | Black Lotus in Field-Tested pays off when:

• an inexpensive Classified rifle is wanted for CS2, and this is the cheapest of the five grades;


• texture appeals more than a drawn scene;


• a dark base is needed under light stickers.

The relief of the weave is already flattened on the raised parts in Field-Tested, and up close that shows. For an even texture the grade to look at is Minimal Wear, though it costs twice as much.