CS:GO Skin MarketWatch is a weekly look at the best deals and trends when it comes to skins. Every week we'll help you get maximum value out of your loadout, highlight pro player inventories or clue you in on some must-buy skins.

The Top 5 Rare Gun Skin Patterns

When it comes to most skins in CS:GO, players looking to pimp their loadout are primarily concerned with the rarity and wear condition.

However, there are a handful of gun skins out there that are based on broad patterns, randomly determined when you open a case. So while the entire point of certain skins, the Hyper Beast for example, is to play off the weapon's physical characteristics, these random pattern skins take an indiscriminate approach to design.

An animation created by Steam user -Dutch- showing the "movement" of the various patterns for the M4A1-S | Icarus Fell

This randomization results in multiple variants of a single skin, with a small number of which looking significantly cooler than their RNG brothers and sisters. In some cases, specific skin patterns can add tremendous value.

With that explainer out of the way, here's our Top 5 Rare Gun Skin Patterns:

(Prices taken from CSGO Analyst's 30-day average on June 2.)

P250 | Crimson Kimono - Full Red

Quality: Industrial Grade

Industrial Grade Factory New: $0.92

It's nothing worth recording a reaction video for, but the Full Red version of the P250 | Crimson Kimono is much better looking than your standard fare.

A Full Red version of the skin is simply the entire top portion of the gun covered by the red pattern, which should net you an above market value gain, though that's not saying much. Its average price is less than a dollar.

Galil / Tec-9 | Sandstorm - Full Purple

Quality: Mil-Spec

Mil-Spec Galil Minimal Wear: $0.35

$0.35 Tec-9 Minimal Wear: $0.37

It's perhaps odd that a skin called the Sandstorm would have all purple variant, since it's not quite clear how the color is associated with sand, or storms. Regardless, it's a rarer pattern than your standard Sandstorm which can feature gold and purple or all gold.

Similar to the Full Red Crimson Kimono, this skin will likely only net you slightly above market value prices depending on the buyer and your skin's condition.

XM1014 | Seasons - Spectrum Fade

Quality: Restricted

Restricted Factory New: $1.62

The XM1014 | Seasons is a relatively new skin, released in the Spectrum Case a few months ago. Appropriately named, the Spectrum Fade version of the skin shows all leaf colors of the seasons, plus a single special blue leaf, missing from the regular variations.

There was apparently one Spectrum Fade version of the skin in StatTrak Factory New that sold for $125 around the time the pattern was first discovered, but you'll probably be hard pressed to find another buyer like that.

Glock-18 | Fade - Absolute Max Fade

Quality: Restricted

Restricted Factory New: $312.28

The Glock-18 | Fade can come in a number of patterns, but the most sought after are the ones that show the most of its three colors: purple, yellow and red. Steam user rΛthus has gone the extra mile and designated different levels of fade in his guide, but it can be summed up in one simple gif:

Generally speaking, you'll want the hard purple line of the fade to go as far forward over the slide release as possible.

AK-47 | Case Hardened - The Scar

Quality: Classified

Classified Factory New: $59.24

While most rare skin patterns do make the skin look better or more unique, they usually do little to affect the skin's actual value. However, when it comes to the Case Hardened skins, the pattern could mean everything.

Steam user -Dutch- has dedicated a detailed guide on just the AK-47 | Case Hardened patterns alone. The long and short of it is that Case Hardened skins can primarily consist of silver, gold, purple and blue, with blue being the rarest and most desired. More blue, more value.

However, there's a finite set of patterns possible for the Case Hardened and there's one blue pattern in particular that's considered the holy grail by collectors, and that's The Scar (Version 1). It elevated a skin that would have normally cost around $150 up to a rough appraisal of about $10,000.

Part of why this pattern is sought after is the upper part of the receiver is almost entirely blue, except for a small "scar" of orange, which can easily be covered by a sticker.

Player Inventory Highlight: k0nfig

G2 Esports were the ultimate victors of the ESL Pro League Season 5 LAN Finals after their 3-1 win over North, but young gun k0nfig stole the show, making himself CS:GO's new heel with some solid banter directed at kennyS and the rest of G2.

It wasn't all just bluster either, as k0nfig had one of his most impressive events ever and was tied for the highest rated player of the event, neck-and-neck with kennyS himself. Here's the kit he used over the weekend:

(Prices taken from CSGO Analyst's 30-day average on June 5.)

Gloves: Minimal Wear Moto | Boom! - $324.14

Minimal Wear Moto | Boom! - Knife: NONE

NONE USP-S: Well-Worn Souvenir Road Rash + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - $36.70

Well-Worn Souvenir Road Rash + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - Glock-18: Well-Worn Souvenir Reactor + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - $5.76

Well-Worn Souvenir Reactor + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - P250: Factory New Franklin + 3DMAX Katowice 2015 sticker - $4.05

Factory New Franklin + 3DMAX Katowice 2015 sticker - Desert Eagle: Factory New StatTrak Cobalt Disruption - $32.68

Factory New StatTrak Cobalt Disruption - Tec-9 : Field-Tested Souvenir Toxic + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - $5.20

: Field-Tested Souvenir Toxic + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - UMP-45: Factory New Souvenir Blaze + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - $43.14

Factory New Souvenir Blaze + Astralis (Gold), Team Dignitas (Gold), k0nfig (Gold), ESL (Gold) Cologne 2016 stickers - M4A4: Factory New Day Break + "wat m4 is dis?" Name Tag - $19.10

Factory New Day Break + "wat m4 is dis?" Name Tag - AK-47: Field-Tested StatTrak Neon Revolution + ''Jeg er lort med ak:('' Name Tag - $72.71

Field-Tested StatTrak Neon Revolution + ''Jeg er lort med ak:('' Name Tag - AWP: Field Tested Medusa - $657.63

Field Tested Medusa - TOTAL COST: $1201.11

k0nfig's high ticket items are undoubtedly his Medusa AWP and Moto | Boom! gloves, but his prize possessions are more likely the slew of Souvenir skins. He has a total of four, all of which contain golden stickers of his own signature from his match against Astralis at the ESL One Cologne 2016 Major.

A notable absentee from his inventory is the Damascus Steel Karambit used in the infamous play where he knifed GODSENT's znajder during an overtime map at the ELEAGUE Major 2017.