Souvenir M4A1-S | Guardian (Factory New)

Skin overview

M4A1-S | Guardian is a counter-terrorist rifle finished in an even cobalt blue, with the CT emblem stencilled on the magazine and small markings on the receiver and silencer. In Factory New the blue looks solid and uniform, and the fine lettering stays sharp enough to read up close. This grade suits buyers who want the paint exactly as designed.

Item type: rifle. The weapon is available only on the Counter-Terrorist side. Classified is the second-rarest weapon tier, only Covert sits above it.

Custom Paint Job: hand-painted across the whole body; this is the type where wear shows most, the artwork rubs down to metal.

Other qualities of this skin: Field-Tested, Well-Worn and Battle-Scarred. The same quality also exists as the StatTrak™ version.

How the skin looks in Factory New

The receiver, handguard, carry handle and stock are painted cobalt blue, while the barrel, pistol grip and silencer remain dark grey. The magazine carries a stencilled CT emblem in a muted gold tone, and fine stencil text runs along the receiver and the silencer.

The blue coat is even across the receiver, handguard and stock with no visible marks. The CT emblem on the magazine and the small stencil text keep crisp outlines. In game the rifle shows a clean, saturated blue against the dark barrel and silencer. Every part looks fresh.

Factory New quality — float range 0–0.07

The whole float range of Souvenir M4A1-S | Guardian is 0–0.5; Factory New takes the 0–0.07 segment (14% of the scale). Within the range, copies with a lower float look cleaner and are valued higher.

Origin of the skin

The skin’s collection is The Winter Offensive Collection with 13 skins in total.

The source is Winter Offensive Weapon Case (on sale since Dec 18, 2013).

What it costs in each quality

Taking Factory New as the baseline, Minimal Wear — 4% cheaper. The comparison uses our cheapest listing of each quality; where there is none, the market reference.

Among 12 skins of the M4A1-S in the Classified grade and this quality, this skin ranks 9th by price, counting from the dearest.

Souvenir version

This is the Souvenir version: such copies dropped to tournament viewers in souvenir packages; the team stickers and signatures on them cannot be removed or chosen. Souvenir items never carry StatTrak™. There is also the regular version without tournament stickers.

Stickers and crafts

Gold, white and blue stickers match the cobalt paint and the gold-toned CT emblem. Small stickers placed in a line along the receiver keep the clean colour block intact, while a single gold accent works well near the magazine.

What to look at before you buy

• Check the float within the grade, since lower values keep cleaner handguard ribs and magazine edges.
• Look at the CT emblem on the magazine, which is the first detail to fade on worn copies.
• Inspect the rear of the stock and the carry handle for chips that show dark metal through the blue.
• Note any applied stickers and name tag, as they change how the plain blue finish looks.

Who the Factory New quality suits

• Collectors who want crisp stencils and an untouched blue coat.
• Sticker crafters who need a clean base for gold or blue sets.
• The choice for buyers who want the finish exactly as designed.