M4A4 | The Emperor (Minimal Wear)

The M4A4 | The Emperor in Minimal Wear (MW) costs almost three times less than Factory New. Its float band takes up 10% of the skin's scale. The rank is Covert, and the only case it comes from is the Prisma Case.

What the M4A4 | The Emperor looks like in Minimal Wear

Three colors carry the skin: dark blue, gold and burgundy-brown. The blue parts are the handguard, magazine, stock and grip, and gold and orange lines run across them, breaking into stars and triangles. The receiver is burgundy-brown, with a golden burst of rays and a symbol shaped like a loop with a crossbar (an ankh). The front sight and the parts around the rear sight are gold, while the barrel and top rail are black. There is no lettering on the body.

In Minimal Wear only the thin gold rays on the very edges of the receiver and handguard begin to lighten. The stock, the magazine and the figure in the middle of the receiver are still intact.

Where the M4A4 | The Emperor came from

The Prisma Collection was added to the game on March 13, 2019, and the M4A4 | The Emperor arrived in the same update.

Before that it was a Workshop piece: the account Oni posted the submission, "M4A4| The Emperor", on March 15, 2018. Valve's text says the finish is inspired by the Emperor tarot card. It closes with a piece of advice: lead with your head, even if that means not listening to your heart.

What to check before buying

When choosing an M4A4 | The Emperor, compare these:

• float: the wear range for this wear is 0.07 to 0.15;


• the thin gold lines on the edges of the handguard and receiver, where listings differ from one another;


• whatever a previous owner left on it, stickers and a name tag.

Every copy carries the same pattern. With only 0.07 to 0.15 to work with, there is no point chasing a particular number.

What the M4A4 | The Emperor costs in Minimal Wear

Ratios against the other wears:

• Factory New is about 2.8 times more expensive;


• Field-Tested is about a sixth cheaper;


• Well-Worn is about a fifth cheaper;


• Battle-Scarred is about a quarter cheaper.

Among Covert M4A4s at this wear, the skin sits below the middle of thirteen: five finishes are cheaper and seven dearer. Royal Paladin is higher by about a quarter, X-Ray and Bullet Rain by about a fifth. Temukau is 30% cheaper. The most expensive of all is The Coalition, at more than five times the price.

Getting the M4A4 | The Emperor

It drops from the Prisma Case, and no other case holds the finish.

The second route is a trade-up: ten skins of the rank below. AUG | Momentum will do, for one. The odds of the Emperor coming out are one in two.

StatTrak and Souvenir

A StatTrak version of the M4A4 | The Emperor exists. Souvenir copies turn up too, though no Souvenir packages were ever issued for it, since those were made only for tournament map collections. Such copies are made with the Souvenir-O-Matic, which puts gold tournament stickers and a player autograph onto an ordinary skin from your inventory.

Stickers and craft on the M4A4 | The Emperor

Flat surfaces are scarce on this rifle: a portrait fills the receiver and a light panel the handguard. The stock and the back of the magazine are the calmest places. Gold and warm stickers fit the palette, while cool blue ones disappear into the blue fill. In CS2, a single sticker on the stock is enough for a craft and leaves the artwork uncovered.

Who this wear suits

Minimal Wear is a sound buy in these cases:

• you want a Covert M4A4 for CS2 that is close to factory condition;


• price matters: Factory New costs 2.8 times more;


• a short float band, 0.07 to 0.15, with a predictable look suits you.

If not a single light line on the edges is acceptable, you need Factory New.