M4A1-S | Flashback (Minimal Wear)

Minimal Wear (MW) on the M4A1-S | Flashback is the second wear from the top of five for this olive rifle with graffiti. Its rank is Restricted, and the Glove Case is where it drops. In this wear the float lies between 0.07 and 0.15, which is 8% of a scale that runs to 1.00.

What the M4A1-S | Flashback looks like in Minimal Wear

The base is olive-khaki with swampy green and sandy patches, and cream-white graffiti is scattered across it. The lettering is largest on the suppressor and smaller on the receiver, where numbers also appear. More writing runs along the magazine and the stock. The grip and magazine match the body in color.

Some of the words, short phrases in Latin letters, can be read, and the rest are blurred on purpose. There is no single picture: the skin is assembled from separate pieces of graffiti placed over the camouflage.

In Minimal Wear the cream lettering on the raised edges still holds. It is the first to wear off, and on more scuffed copies it breaks into strokes, but within 0.07 to 0.15 you do not see that.

Where the M4A1-S | Flashback came from

The skin appeared in November 2016, when the Glove Collection was added to the game. The finish is credited to Superior Weapons, and its number in Valve's catalog is 631. In its description Valve says the artwork was hand-painted as an attempt to hint at the duality of man.

What to check before buying

Before you pay, check:

• the float: the closer to 0.07, the more complete the cream letters along the edges;


• the lettering on the suppressor: it is the largest and shows the condition at once;


• the name tag and stickers, which stay on the listing.

The graffiti are laid out the same way on every copy. Across 0.07 to 0.15 the rifle looks the same.

What the M4A1-S | Flashback costs in Minimal Wear

Factory New costs 15 times more. Field-Tested costs 1.8 times less, Well-Worn 2.4 times less and Battle-Scarred 2.6 times less. So Minimal Wear costs more than any of the three lower wears, by a factor of 1.8 to 2.6.

Among Restricted rifles with a price in this wear, the skin is seventh from the bottom of eleven: six are cheaper and four cost more. Right above it is the M4A1-S | Basilisk, about a third more expensive. The M4A1-S | Dark Water and the M4A1-S | Icarus Fell also rank higher. The nearest below, the M4A1-S | Liquidation, is cheaper by 1.7 times.

Getting the M4A1-S | Flashback

The skin drops from the Glove Case.

It also comes from a trade-up: ten skins one rank lower go into the contract. The collection has five Restricted skins, so with a ten from it the chance of getting this rifle is one in five.

StatTrak and Souvenir

A StatTrak version of this finish exists. Souvenir packages never covered it, because they were made only for tournament map collections. You can still build a Souvenir copy yourself: the Souvenir-O-Matic adds gold tournament stickers and a player autograph to an ordinary skin from your inventory.

Stickers and craft on the M4A1-S | Flashback

The olive base with its cream lettering leaves almost no free background. Dark and colored stickers suit a craft, while cream ones get lost among the graffiti. The magazine and the butt of the stock remain flat areas.

Who this wear suits

Minimal Wear makes sense in three cases:

• you want a CS2 rifle with nearly intact cream letters, without paying 15 times more;


• you want a look close to factory condition, but at a much lower price;


• you want a base for a craft where the lettering on the edges still holds.

If you can live without the letters, the three lower wears are cheaper by 1.8 to 2.6 times.