So then how do you install a CIA without one? I don't connect to Nintendo's servers at all when installing CIAs... Literally: Obtain CIA -> Boot into CFW -> Install CIA -> Play!
But apparently I need some magical ticket that will only allow me to play on emunand, and this ticket is obtained from Nintendo.
Answer this for me: What happens if I set up two emunands with CFW, both Linked, and both are still linked with sysnand. I then install a CIA to one emunand and copy+paste the SD card files over to the other SD (with emunand 2). In my current setup (emunand no cfw + emunand cfw + sysnand), the same application will show up on all three, albeit unplayable on anything but the cfw. But if I put it on the 2nd CFW, surely I should be able to play it?
If that's the case, then the only thing stopping it from running on the sysnand would be the lack of patching due to being improperly signed (downloading eShop things on emunand and running on sysnand works fine). But if it's a 'legit/clean' CIA, wouldn't it run fine? By clean/legit, I mean ripped from a modded console without an NNID that had the game pre-bundled (no nintendo server involved).
that is because the ticket is already made, it is in the cia

(if you want a signed, good, ticket, nintendo has to make it. if not, and you edit it or make it yourself, it will not be signed correctly and will not be legit)

you do not need a magical ticket lol, if you want to play on emunand, you need to install the cia on emunand.
if you want to play on sysnand, you need to install the cia on sysnand.
if you want to play a cia that you did not buy, that has been repacked etc etc, then you will need hacks to run it, regardless on sysnand or emunand.
if you want to play the game on both sysnand and emunand, install it on both.
if you make another emunand on another sd card, if you did not install a game on that specific emunand, it will not run - because no ticket.
when you dump a preinstalled game's ticket, you can have an nnid attached to the console

the ticket will still be there. mine was, someone else's was too.