“Cleanest Mutant in MAYC” — 8 steps making the case for Mutant #6138
If one were to look at the rankings for Mutant #6138 (my mutant!), they wouldn’t seem that impressive. Lucky Trader has it ranked at #5,288/18,588, and rarity.tools has it at #5,290/18,588. At first glance this sounds like an ordinary, middle of the pack mutant. However this couldn’t be further from the truth. Over the course of 8 steps, I’d like to present the case that #6138 is the “Cleanest Mutant in MAYC” — ie anything but ordinary.
Starting Point: total number of mutants (18,588)
As of April 11, 2022 there are 18,588 mutants in the Mutant Ape Yacht Club.
1) Has to be a 4T (498 remain)
One of the most sought after Apes in the Bored Ape Yacht Club is what’s known as a “4 Trait Ape” (4T). As the name suggests, a 4T Ape has only 4 traits — Background, Fur, Eyes, Mouth. These highly coveted 4T Apes are praised for their minimalist features and are regarded as being the “cleanest” Apes. Unsurprisingly, 4T Apes are super rare — of the 10,000 Bored Apes, only 254 4T Apes exist — ie only 2.5% of all Apes!
Upon beginning our search, it’s only logical to follow in BAYC’s footsteps and insist that the “cleanest mutant” must also be a 4T Ape. Much like BAYC, only a fraction of MAYC are 4T. In fact, only 498 of the 18,588 total mutants — just 3%! — are 4T Mutants. Since only these 498 mutants qualify, we’ve just eliminated 18,090 mutants in one fell swoop — ie over 97% of the entire collection. Savage!
Remaining Mutants: 498
2) Has to be an M1 Mutant (368 remain)
*4T, M1
Let’s analyze these 4T Mutants. The 498 4Ts are comprised of 369 M1 Mutants and 129 M2 Mutants. While both M1 & M2 Mutants are awesome, they’re designed to be completely different. M2 Mutants are distinctly more menacing and sinister looking than M1 Mutants — a fact which makes them too “mutantized” to be in consideration for “cleanest mutant.”
Therefore of our 498 4T Mutants, we’ll say farewell to the 129 M2 4Ts — leaving us with 369 4T M1s.
Remaining Mutants: 369
3) No “melty face” (127 remain)
**4T, M1, “no melty face”
After establishing that the 4T Mutant must be an M1 Mutant, our next criteria is “no melty faces” (see images below). An M1 Mutant has 33 mouth options — 19 of which give the mutant a “melty face.” These mutants intentionally aren’t supposed to look clean — their faces literally drip!
Of the 369 remaining mutants, 242 have “melty faces” and are eliminated — leaving us with only 127 remaining mutants.
Remaining Mutants: 127
4) Has to be a “clean mouth” (34 remain)
**4T, M1, “no melty face”, clean mouth
While the remaining 127 mutants may not have “melty faces,” many of them do have mouths that wouldn’t necessarily be described as “clean.” For example, here’s a sampling of some of the remaining mouths:
To truly be considered a “clean mouth” the Ape’s mouth must be unblemished and unmutated, while also maintaining a realistic looking “Ape-like” mouth structure. Only 4 mouths(!) fit this bill — the M1 Grin, & Diamond, Gold, Multicolored Grills — leaving us with a grand total of 34 remaining Apes.
Remaining Mutants: 34
5) Fur trait (18 remain)
**4T, M1, “no melty face”, clean mouth, clean fur
Now down to 34 Apes, let’s move on to the next step: examining the Ape’s fur. In order to be considered “cleanest mutant,” it’s only logical that the Ape’s fur be unblemished with no noticeable mutations or additions. This unfortunately eliminates any Apes whose fur color is: Cream, Gray, Red, Golden Brown, Dark Brown, Pink, Cheetah, or Tan.
The Death Bot, Black, Blue, Brown, White, and Zombie furs are the only ones clean enough to remain in consideration — leaving us with 18 mutants.
Remaining Mutants: 18
6) Normal eyes (10 remain)
**4T, M1, “no melty face”, clean mouth, clean fur, normal eyes
The final 18. Time to examine the eyes. We’re looking for normal eyes, so any abnormal or irregular eyes are eliminated. Let’s say farewell to these 8 Apes.
Remaining Mutants: 10
7) Cleanest fur/ “passing the eye test” (2 remain)
**4T, M1, “no melty face”, clean mouth, clean fur, normal eyes, “eye test”
Having starting with 18,581 mutants, we’ve made our way down to the final 10. All 10 remaining mutants adhere to the criteria we’ve established thus far.
So how to whittle down this list? Remember: our objective is to find the “cleanest mutant” — namely the most “Ape-like” looking mutant that also passes the eye test for looking the cleanest. To do this, let’s reexamine the fur of the remaining Apes. Three furs are left: Black, Zombie, Brown.
- Black fur — is cool…but the Ape’s fur isn’t fully intact, and coals don’t really constitute fur (A+ callback to Kylo Ren’s helmet though!).
- Zombie fur — also awesome… but it’s difficult to bestow the title of “cleanest mutant” on an Ape that has gaping wounds filled with maggots.
- Brown fur — aha! Not only is this fur the most “Ape-like,” it also passes the eye test as it looks the cleanest. For this reason, the 2 Brown fur Apesare the ones who’ll move forward.
Remaining Mutants: 2
8) The Final 2 (#6138 vs #9028)
**4T, M1, “no melty face”, clean mouth, clean fur, normal eyes, “eye test”
It all comes down to #6138 vs #9028! At first glance, these Apes appear to be carbon copies of one another — the only immediate difference between them seems to be the background.
However ONE key detail that sets them apart:
“Look in my eyes! what do you see…”
#6138’s “M1 Bored” eyes are significantly clearer than #9028’s “M1 Bloodshot” eyes, which are noticeably more red.
Winner!
#6138’s clear eyes (wow) are enough to take the crown. Congratulations! We’ve found our “cleanest mutant!”
Recap
We started with 18,588 mutants and used these 8 steps — 4T, M1, “no melty face”, clean mouth, clean fur, normal eyes, cleanest fur — to find the cleanest Mutant.
Some may say that “cleanest mutant” is an oxymoron — namely that MAYC is for unique “mutantized” versions of Apes! To which I’d respond: it’s difficult to find a mutant more unique than #6138, whose unparalleled cleanness makes it a true 1/1.
