Quarantine Collection: How good is it really?
(7 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5)
After the huge Shattered Web update in skins which consisted of one case and three new collections, we have finally got not one but two new cases! Both Prisma 2 collection and The Quarantine Collection dropped yesterday just as Operation Shattered Web finished. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the Quarantine Collection, so if you’re interested in Prisma 2 Collection, we’ll cover it in the next article.
Why thoust exist?
What’s the most surprising about the entire situation is that there are two collections released at once. We could smell the Prisma 2 Collection coming from a mile away. It’s comprised of some of the workshop submissions favorited by many and it is that time of year to release a new batch of skins. Yet, Quarantine Collection is very clearly inspired by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Although the coronavirus epidemic is a serious topic, Valve managed to pull off a coronavirus-themed community skins collection that isn’t in a bad taste. Good job, Valve!
Still, why does it exist in the first place? Some veteran traders suggest that Quarantine Collection was released to fill the void left after the postponed Rio Major. In a normal situation, every Major means a lot of new items, mostly souvenir drops and stickers that are perfect investment opportunity for skins investors and esports fanatics alike. A postponed ESL One Rio Major 2020 (which was obviously the responsible call to make) means no new skins. This, in turn, means no new money from the trades on these items.
Moreover, Quarantine Collection rides on the quarantine memes pretty well. This wouldn’t be the first attempt to capitalize on a meme by a big company. How will it go this time? Time (and prices) will tell.
What’s in the boooox!?
The Quarantine Collection skins come from Quarantine Case, which just like any other case has a chance to be one of the weekly random drops and needs an associated key to be opened. It holds 17 quarantine and epidemic-themed skins, but I will focus on four Quarantine Collection skins that I find the most pleasing.
AWP | Virus
Yes, it is yet another Covert AWP. In design very similar to AWP | Containment Breach as it shares the toxic/radioactive green and black palette, covert grade and pricing. The only distinct differences are that AWP | Virus colors are more toned down, scope decals and coloring as well as imagery. Virus is covered in, well, viruses and cells seen under the microscope, whereas Containment Breach has some mutated, radioactive puppies on it. It’s nice having another AWP skin in game to choose from, but isn’t it a bit too much to go with two top AWP green skins in a row, Valve?
XM1014 | Plague
Coming from a long collection of Plague skins, XM1014 | Plague is a spray-painted style of skin. A natural beige base has been decorated with randomly placed green viral exanthems. The higher the wear, the more green you’ll get your shotty. Plus, there’s a lot of different patterns and it would be very interesting to see this style on a knife. Just imagine the collectors hunt for Green Plague Gem with a full green play side! Another thing worth mentioning is that this is the first XM1014 Covert grade skin.
Glock-18 | Quarantine
A very sexy and brutal rendition of the classic T-side peashooter. A very unique mixture of gritty, dirty realism and clear-cut lines on the steel slide gives it a very distinctive look among other Glocks, which are all either minimal or over-the-top. This is the perfect design for a sidearm equipped by the Quarantine Zone Goes Mad security. I’ll be honest, this may be my favorite Glock skin yet. The price now is crazy ($30-$250), but we will see how it looks like financially after two or three weeks when the prices stabilize a bit.
AK-47 | Paper
A clear reference to the toilet paper meme, AK-47 | Paper is a Mil-Spec grade Ak-47 skin that really sticks out among all viral, toxic, and brutal weaponry. It’s white, cartoonish and hella sweet. The wear levels are also quite distinct: Battle-Scarred showing a lot of bare-metal body and Factory New being all white and clean. I can only imagine the heights this quite average AK-47 skin will get to when it comes to low wear, fully white pieces. As a true collector’s treat, it may be also a good addition to all-white inventories.
What’s next for the Quarantine Collection?
Now we wait for prices to stabilize. I doubt any of the skins from the Quarantine Collection will reach the top in terms of price, but you never know. Sadly, there is no new knives in either Quarantine Collection, nor the Prisma 2 Collection, so the heavy-hitter collectors aren’t very happy. This will surely lower the longevity of the Quarantine Case. Will the meme suffice to keep it afloat? Will skins such as Glock-18 | Quarantine or AK-47 | Paper find their Stans? We’ll see that in the future.
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Would you like a Quarantine Collection to be a thing? Please support the creators of the original skins:
Glock-18 | Quarantine: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=513407350
AWP | Virus: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=291628089&searchtext=AWP+Virus
XM1014 | Plague: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2030387240&searchtext=plague
AK-47 | Paper: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=200532640
