MP9 | Starlight Protector (Minimal Wear)

Minimal Wear (MW) is the second step down the scale for the MP9 | Starlight Protector, after Factory New. Its float runs from 0.07 to 0.15. It is Covert rank, and the skin belongs to the Dreams & Nightmares Collection and drops from the case of the same name.

What the MP9 | Starlight Protector looks like in Minimal Wear

Valve describes the finish as a unicorn with a rainbow mane on a white ground with gold accents. On the model the ground reads as marble: pale, with gray veining across the top of the receiver. The gold runs in thin lines along the edges and as a diamond on the dark magazine, and four-point stars are scattered over the grip and receiver. The stock is cream.

The unicorn's rainbow head fills the rear of the receiver and stays the most colorful spot on the body. In Minimal Wear the wear is just beginning: it reaches the edges, where the gold line is thinnest. The 0.07 to 0.15 band makes up 10% of the finish's scale.

Where the MP9 | Starlight Protector came from

In the Steam Workshop the finish was posted as "MP9 :: Starlight". Its author, TheDanidem, called the work his entry for the Covert rank in the Dreams & Nightmares contest. In the item text Valve added a line about a deity who will protect whoever it chooses.

In the game, the Dreams & Nightmares Collection opened on January 21, 2022, and the MP9 | Starlight Protector was there from day one. Its number in Valve's catalog is 1134.

What to check before buying

For the MP9 | Starlight Protector, these are worth checking:

• float: the gold on the edges is better preserved near the lower limit and visibly scuffed near 0.15;


• a name tag and stickers: on this MP9 | Starlight Protector they stay with the listing.

Every copy in the run carries identical artwork. The 0.07 to 0.15 band is tight, and listings at the extremes differ only by the number.

What the MP9 | Starlight Protector costs in Minimal Wear

Relative to this wear, the others cost:

• Factory New, about 1.4 times as much;


• Field-Tested, about 8% less;


• Well-Worn, level;


• Battle-Scarred, about 10% less.

The three lower wears cost practically the same, so paying extra only makes sense for the step up to Factory New. The price row is dense, and the two extremes differ by about one and a half times.

Getting the MP9 | Starlight Protector

The Dreams & Nightmares Case is where it drops. Ten skins from the rank below can be traded up for it, for example Dual Berettas | Melondrama or FAMAS | Rapid Eye Movement.

With two Covert skins in the collection, a contract gives this one at odds of one in two. Five Covert skins go into a craft for a rare special item, and the possible results include the Butterfly Knife and the Falchion Knife.

StatTrak and Souvenir

A StatTrak version of the MP9 | Starlight Protector exists. No souvenir packages were released for this finish, since those were made only for tournament map collections. But you can build a souvenir copy yourself: the Souvenir-O-Matic puts gold tournament stickers and a player autograph on an ordinary skin from your inventory.

Stickers and craft on the MP9 | Starlight Protector

The skin's ground is pale and uneven: veined marble and fine gold. Dark, dense stickers read at once on the marble part, while gold ones get lost. The mane at the rear of the receiver competes with any colored sticker, so it is left open. For a craft there is room on the dark grip and on the stock.

Who this wear suits

Buy the MP9 | Starlight Protector in Minimal Wear when:

• you want near-factory trim without paying about one and a half times as much;


• the gold trim on the edges should stay nearly whole;


• you are taking a Covert MP9 for CS2 or for a collection.

Further down the scale the price barely changes while the wear grows. Here the gold on the edges still holds, and on price this wear sits next to the worn ones.