diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
index 911b0bc6..41446ad1 100644
--- a/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import { register } from 'node:module'
-import path from 'node:path'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
 
 import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test'
@@ -11,20 +10,22 @@ import { assertTestDatabase } from './tests/helpers/assertTestDatabase'
  * OPS46 — a bare `playwright test` (VS Code extension, `pnpm exec playwright
  * test --list`, ad-hoc runs) must collect like `pnpm test:e2e` does. That
  * script carries the needed flags in NODE_OPTIONS (`--conditions=react-server
- * --import=tsx/esm`); this block re-applies the same behavior when they are
- * absent:
+ * --import=tsx/esm`); this block re-applies the same behavior whenever that
+ * PAIR is not complete (a lone `--conditions=react-server` from build/migrate
+ * still leaves `next/cache` unresolvable):
  *  - register() installs the resolution hook (tests/helpers/e2eEsmResolve.mjs)
  *    in THIS process — test collection happens here after config load, which
  *    is why a bare `--list` needs it in-process;
  *  - the NODE_OPTIONS mutation hands the same hook to the worker processes
  *    Playwright spawns for actual runs (they inherit the env at spawn).
- * When the flags are already present (the scripted path) nothing changes.
+ * When the scripted pair is already present nothing changes.
  */
-const bareInvocation = !process.env.NODE_OPTIONS?.includes('--conditions=react-server')
-if (bareInvocation) {
+const scriptedNodeOptions =
+  process.env.NODE_OPTIONS?.includes('--conditions=react-server') &&
+  process.env.NODE_OPTIONS?.includes('--import=tsx/esm')
+if (!scriptedNodeOptions) {
   register(new URL('./tests/helpers/e2eEsmResolve.mjs', import.meta.url))
-  const configDir = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
-  const loaderEntry = path.join(configDir, 'tests', 'helpers', 'e2eEsmLoader.mjs')
+  const loaderEntry = fileURLToPath(new URL('./tests/helpers/e2eEsmLoader.mjs', import.meta.url))
   process.env.NODE_OPTIONS = [process.env.NODE_OPTIONS, `--import=${loaderEntry}`]
     .filter(Boolean)
     .join(' ')
diff --git a/tests/e2e/fixtures/campaignE2EFixtures.ts b/tests/e2e/fixtures/campaignE2EFixtures.ts
index eeb4b4be..6f6d4d3d 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/fixtures/campaignE2EFixtures.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/fixtures/campaignE2EFixtures.ts
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ export class CampaignE2EOwnership {
   readonly payload: Payload
   readonly runID = randomUUID()
   private counter = 0
-  private readonly claimedMunicipalityIndexes = new Set<number>()
+  private claimedAnyMunicipality = false
   private readonly touchedMunicipalities = new Set<number>()
   private readonly owned = new Map<OwnedCollection, Set<number>>(
     deletionOrder.map((collection) => [collection, new Set<number>()]),
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ export class CampaignE2EOwnership {
       municipalityCatalog.length,
       this.runID,
     )
-    this.claimedMunicipalityIndexes.add(index)
+    this.claimedAnyMunicipality = true
     const slug = municipalityCatalog[index]!.slug
     const found = await this.rootPayload.find({
       collection: 'municipality',
@@ -423,9 +423,6 @@ export class CampaignE2EOwnership {
   }
 
   async cleanup(): Promise<void> {
-    if (this.claimedMunicipalityIndexes.size > 0) {
-      await releaseMunicipalityClaims(this.rootPayload, this.runID)
-    }
     await this.discoverOwnedRows()
     await withPayloadTransaction(this.rootPayload, async ({ req, transactionID }) => {
       const transaction = this.rootPayload.db.sessions?.[String(transactionID)]?.db as
@@ -499,6 +496,13 @@ export class CampaignE2EOwnership {
         })
       }
     })
+    // Release the allocator claim only AFTER the run's rows are purged: a
+    // concurrent run that claims this slot in the meantime would purge-on-claim
+    // the rows still live here (the release→purge window is the corruption the
+    // registry exists to prevent).
+    if (this.claimedAnyMunicipality) {
+      await releaseMunicipalityClaims(this.rootPayload, this.runID)
+    }
   }
 
   async expectNoOwnedRows(): Promise<void> {
diff --git a/tests/helpers/campaignFixtures.ts b/tests/helpers/campaignFixtures.ts
index 920e028b..55ad9731 100644
--- a/tests/helpers/campaignFixtures.ts
+++ b/tests/helpers/campaignFixtures.ts
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ export class CampaignFixtures {
   private cleaned = false
   private counter = 0
   private municipalityCursor = 0
-  private readonly claimedMunicipalityIndexes = new Set<number>()
+  private claimedAnyMunicipality = false
   private readonly markers = new Set<string>()
   private readonly owned = emptyOwnedIDs()
   private readonly touchedMunicipalities = new Set<number>()
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@ export class CampaignFixtures {
         municipalityCatalog.length,
         this.runID,
       )
-      this.claimedMunicipalityIndexes.add(index)
+      this.claimedAnyMunicipality = true
       requestedSlug = municipalityCatalog[index]!.slug
       this.municipalityCursor += 1
     }
@@ -1016,9 +1016,6 @@ export class CampaignFixtures {
 
   async cleanup(): Promise<void> {
     if (this.cleaned) return
-    if (this.claimedMunicipalityIndexes.size > 0) {
-      await releaseMunicipalityClaims(this.rootPayload, this.runID)
-    }
     await this.discoverDependents()
     await withPayloadTransaction(this.rootPayload, async ({ req }) => {
       for (const collection of [
@@ -1072,6 +1069,13 @@ export class CampaignFixtures {
         )
       }
     })
+    // Release the allocator claim only AFTER the run's rows are purged: a
+    // concurrent run that claims this slot in the meantime would purge-on-claim
+    // the rows still live here (the release→purge window is the corruption the
+    // registry exists to prevent).
+    if (this.claimedAnyMunicipality) {
+      await releaseMunicipalityClaims(this.rootPayload, this.runID)
+    }
     this.cleaned = true
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/int/campaignMunicipalityAllocator.int.spec.ts b/tests/int/campaignMunicipalityAllocator.int.spec.ts
index b778b4c1..40ad8843 100644
--- a/tests/int/campaignMunicipalityAllocator.int.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/int/campaignMunicipalityAllocator.int.spec.ts
@@ -63,11 +63,13 @@ describe('campaign municipality allocator registry', () => {
       const runID = freshRunID()
       const first = await claimMunicipalityIndex(payload, catalogSize, runID)
       const second = await claimMunicipalityIndex(payload, catalogSize, runID)
-      expect(second).not.toBe(first)
-      expect([first, second]).not.toContain(anchorIndex)
+      expect(second, 'claims of the same run must be distinct').not.toBe(first)
+      expect([first, second], 'a live run must never receive the anchor slot').not.toContain(
+        anchorIndex,
+      )
       await releaseMunicipalityClaims(payload, runID)
     }
-    expect(await claimCount(anchor)).toBe(1)
+    expect(await claimCount(anchor), 'the anchor claim must survive every wrap').toBe(1)
   })
 
   it('fails loudly with an exhaustion error instead of colliding, then recovers on release', async () => {
@@ -106,7 +108,7 @@ describe('campaign municipality allocator registry', () => {
     const crashed = freshRunID()
     const survivor = freshRunID()
 
-    const crashedIndex = await claimMunicipalityIndex(payload, catalogSize, crashed)
+    await claimMunicipalityIndex(payload, catalogSize, crashed)
     // Simulate a run killed before cleanup: age its claim past the 2h window.
     await payload.db.drizzle.execute(sql`
       UPDATE "campaign_fixture_municipality_claims"
@@ -114,17 +116,20 @@ describe('campaign municipality allocator registry', () => {
       WHERE "run_id" = ${crashed}
     `)
 
-    // The stale slot is reclaimable: keep claiming until the survivor lands
-    // on the crashed run's index (the sequence advances one slot per claim,
-    // so a bounded loop covers every slot of the residue space).
-    let reclaimed = false
-    for (let attempt = 0; attempt < catalogSize * 3 && !reclaimed; attempt += 1) {
-      if ((await claimMunicipalityIndex(payload, catalogSize, survivor)) === crashedIndex) {
-        reclaimed = true
-      }
+    // A stale claim must not block the space forever: keep claiming until
+    // the crashed run's claim is gone. Under the PARALLEL suite another spec
+    // may steal the aged slot first (shared cursor), so the invariant is
+    // "the stale claim disappears while the survivor claims succeed" — not
+    // "the survivor lands on that exact slot".
+    let stolen = false
+    for (let attempt = 0; attempt < catalogSize * 3 && !stolen; attempt += 1) {
+      await claimMunicipalityIndex(payload, catalogSize, survivor)
+      if ((await claimCount(crashed)) === 0) stolen = true
     }
-    expect(reclaimed, 'stale claim must be stealable').toBe(true)
-    expect(await claimCount(crashed)).toBe(0)
+    expect(stolen, 'a stale claim must be stolen (or the slot reclaimed) within the loop').toBe(
+      true,
+    )
+    expect(await claimCount(crashed), 'crashed run must hold no claim after the steal').toBe(0)
     // The survivor may hold up to catalogSize slots at this point; release
     // inline so the later tests keep free space (the afterAll is the net).
     await releaseMunicipalityClaims(payload, survivor)
diff --git a/tests/unit/testMunicipalityAllocatorConventions.unit.spec.ts b/tests/unit/testMunicipalityAllocatorConventions.unit.spec.ts
index 8d281445..59d6bf20 100644
--- a/tests/unit/testMunicipalityAllocatorConventions.unit.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/testMunicipalityAllocatorConventions.unit.spec.ts
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ describe('municipality allocator discipline (miss #73)', () => {
 
     for (const file of scanned) {
       const source = readFileSync(file, 'utf8')
-      if (/nextval\(|campaign_fixture_municipality_alloc/.test(source)) {
+      if (/\bnextval\s*\(|\bsetval\s*\(|campaign_fixture_municipality_alloc/.test(source)) {
         offenders.push(repoPath(file))
       }
     }