Bow Before The Emperor – A Sublime M4A4 Skin

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m4a4 emperor csgo skins

There are many platitudes one could evoke when speaking about CSGO skins and trying to describe their design, giving justice to the work put into the project by its creator, be it from the Valve sector or from the community workshop. There are also skins that deserve much praise and can easily be spoken about in volumes. Such is The Emperor M4A4. 

 M4A4 is the go-to CT rifle in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It doesn’t allow you to one-click someone’s head like the T’s AK-47, but it surely allows for deadly bursts in mid-range. It’s a staple gun recognizable beyond the world of Counter-Strike, as it has long been one of the core weapons of US enforcer teams.

It’s no surprise that its simple and spacey frame serves as a good canvas for inventive artists. While some designers choose to elaborate the gun’s technical details (like with M4A4 | The Battlestar), some just let their creativity loose and cover the whole rifle with a genuine piece of art. That’s the case with The Emperor. A part of a bigger, long-stretched series of gun designs based on specific cards of Tarot Major Arcana, this M4A4 is one of the most truly royale skins. What’s the context of its creation and how is it doing in the skin market?

Where to find M4A4 The Emperor skin?

The Emperor has been introduced to CS:GO as a part of Prisma Collection, thus it’s available for looting from a Prisma Case. It is, however, one of the collection’s two Covert skins, so given how rarely those drop while opening the case, so although Prisma Case is one of the most common ones, it will probably cost you a lot of keys to be able to find one within.

What makes The Emperor so special?

It’s quite obvious that the design itself makes it stand out. The side view of the grim emperor’s face is menacing, yet the golden halo makes it almost awe-inspiring. The overall contrasting colors of blue, gold, black, and white introduce several other patterns along the way, using the gun’s surface in interesting ways. The stock has an interesting gothic motif with the card’s number in Tarot series. The clip is adorned with both a royal bird and the extension of the emperor’s staff drawn at the body, looking almost seamless at the break of both parts.

Putting aside the aesthetics, the Emperor is a part of an important process of systematically introducing community-made Steam Workshop skins into the game. The whole Tarot Collection (now boasting 2 series and several guns included in the official skin roster) is the work and imagination of three dutiful users – Zaphk, OniLolz, and 2minds. We strongly recommend checking out their other works catalogued in the workshop.

What are the wear levels of M4A4 Emperor?

M4A4 | The Emperor is available in all wear levels. It’s float spans from 0.00 to 0.80. It might seem that the lower wear levels are very rugged, but the designers kept it very adequate, making the most touched and moved parts wear the most and the saturation of the design decrease, but never really letting it fade away so much to have doubts about the outlook. Let’s summarise all the regal robes of The Emperor. (The prices are taken from SteamAnalyst as for the last week of June 2020).

  • M4A4 The Emperor Battle-Scarred – worth $12~$17 or $34~$39 with StatTrak. It’s apparently the dullest of all wear levels, with visible scratches to the cartridge and the locks, plus the body is well-faded. Nevertheless, the main design of the gun is still visible.
  • M4A4 The Emperor Well-Worn – costs $19~$23 or $52~$65 with StatTrak. Fewer scratches on the locks and the clip and a bit more saturation.
  • M4A4 The Emperor Field-Tested – worth something between $19 or $22 (or even $26 on the Steam Community Market), and double or triple that much with StatTrak. A heedless eye might even miss the scratches and fades on this one. With the low-border floats, it looks almost untouched.
  • M4A4 The Emperor Minimal Wear – costs between $43 and $57, but sprinkle it with StatTrak and the prices rise to anything between $128 and $171. What differs it from the mint condition is a little decrease in saturation and a bit of a scratch in the front of the clip – honestly, it’s barely noticeable.
  • M4A4 The Emperor Factory New – the majesty in all its glory is obtainable for $112~$142, and additionally crowned with StatTrak goes up in price to $490 or even $600 in the lowest floats. Not a treat for a faint of heart!
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How to trade The Emperor?

As it usually is with Covert skins, M4A4 The Emperor skin is better obtained on third-party marketplaces than from the Steam Community Market. Steam’s commission instantly raises the price of the item, whereas some of the external markets can shave off of the top of it. If you’re interested in buying one for yourself, decide on what wear level would be satisfactory to you and head to the SteamAnalyst for an instant comparison of offers. Don’t be surprised if Skinwallet Market holds the most affordable Emperor offer!

If you happen to have one yourself and want to cash it in, then the approach is quite similar. Of course, you can list it with a high price on Steam Market and wait for an oblivious buyer, but it’s much better to balance your offer and head to a marketplace with the lowest volume of your wear level’s item. On a different note, if you need cash quick and you’re not willing to wait for high bids, sites like Skinwallet help you perform an instant deposit and a quick cashout for to an e-wallet of choice. 

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The Emperor’s Exodus

M4A4 The Emperor CSGO skin is not only a rare and worthy find amidst hundreds of other skins – it’s both a piece of art on its own and a strong position in a whole legacy of Tarot skins curated with an artistic approach. Its uniqueness is also expressed in the way it wears with rising float value, as most of its wear levels don’t stand down to the unworn variant. Thus, The Emperor is sure worth a regal honors, so we hope you can crown your collection with its eminence!

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