diff --git a/test/helpers/carve-guards.ts b/test/helpers/carve-guards.ts
index 8b5b27bcc..355749f45 100644
--- a/test/helpers/carve-guards.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/carve-guards.ts
@@ -751,10 +751,10 @@ do not launch the downstream skill or open a browser.`,
     // No section-loading paid case yet: a new periodic case would push the
     // periodic census past its 38-slice cap (test/paid-retry-supervision.test.ts).
     behavioral: 'none',
-    maxSkeletonBytes: 137_767, // measured 137767 (2026-10-26; 137773 on 2026-10-25 before the shorter craft-audit trigger): the Section index the external-host carve test requires, its craft-audit row, and the STOP pointer (GSTA-92; Garry 2026-10-25 'Do it' (GSTA-92)).
-    minUnionBytes: 143_300, // measured union 145037 (2026-10-26)
+    maxSkeletonBytes: 137_735, // measured 137735 on the merged tree with main f27a760 (2026-10-27, #3507); 137767 (2026-10-26; 137773 on 2026-10-25 before the shorter craft-audit trigger): the Section index the external-host carve test requires, its craft-audit row, and the STOP pointer (GSTA-92; Garry 2026-10-25 'Do it' (GSTA-92)).
+    minUnionBytes: 143_300, // measured union 144802 on the merged tree with main f27a760 (2026-10-27, #3507); 145037 (2026-10-26)
     mustContain: ['AI Slop Detection', 'Fix Loop', 'gstack-design-lint', 'Proof beside each claim', 'holds session data'],
-    maxSizeRatio: 1.3704, // first parity guard for design-review: measured 145082 / 105,842 = 1.3708 (2026-10-25; 145077 after the /ship review fixes, 145068 = 1.3707 after the line-13 reword, 145049 = 1.3705 after the post-merge /ship review, 145037 = 1.3704 after its second pass, 2026-10-26), the skeleton's growth since v1.64.1.0 plus the craft audit (Garry 2026-10-25 'Do it' (GSTA-92)).
+    maxSizeRatio: 1.3681, // first parity guard for design-review: measured 144802 / 105,842 = 1.3681 on the merged tree with main f27a760 (2026-10-27, #3507: the design lint swap); before that 145082 / 105,842 = 1.3708 (2026-10-25; 145077 after the /ship review fixes, 145068 = 1.3707 after the line-13 reword, 145049 = 1.3705 after the post-merge /ship review, 145037 = 1.3704 after its second pass, 2026-10-26), the skeleton's growth since v1.64.1.0 plus the craft audit (Garry 2026-10-25 'Do it' (GSTA-92)).
   },
 
   // ── Token-reduction Phase 4 wave 4 (v1.69.x branch): design doctrine carve ──
@@ -784,8 +784,8 @@ do not launch the downstream skill or open a browser.`,
       gateAfterStop: undefined, // operational skill, no plan-mode gate
     },
     behavioral: 'prompt',
-    maxSkeletonBytes: 56_200, // measured 55,786 (2026-10-25): the craft section pointer, its index row and the Step 4 craft-check line (GSTA-92); before that 55,262 (2026-09-09): the detector install offer pointer + its sections-table row (the brief itself lives in sections/detector-install-offer.md); before that 54,545 for the review-cycle trust prose, the Slop Gate's Decisions-Log clause, and the blacklist header's override sentence + Honest Work wave merged (W2/W3 gate integrity in review/ship, W4 kernel + DONE line in every tier-2+ skill, W5/W7 in spec/ship): re-measured on the integrated tree (2026-10-10).
-    minUnionBytes: 57_500, // Phase 4 wave 4; measured union 58,682
+    maxSkeletonBytes: 56_200, // measured 55,834 on the merged tree with main f27a760 (2026-10-27, #3507: the Step 4 lint line); 55,786 (2026-10-25): the craft section pointer, its index row and the Step 4 craft-check line (GSTA-92); before that 55,262 (2026-09-09): the detector install offer pointer + its sections-table row (the brief itself lives in sections/detector-install-offer.md); before that 54,545 for the review-cycle trust prose, the Slop Gate's Decisions-Log clause, and the blacklist header's override sentence + Honest Work wave merged (W2/W3 gate integrity in review/ship, W4 kernel + DONE line in every tier-2+ skill, W5/W7 in spec/ship): re-measured on the integrated tree (2026-10-10).
+    minUnionBytes: 57_500, // Phase 4 wave 4; measured union 58,682; 78,626 on the merged tree with main f27a760 (2026-10-27, #3507)
     mustContain: ["Don't make me think", "Users scan, they don't read", 'The Goodwill Reservoir', 'PRETEXT API CHEATSHEET', 'Pattern 3: Text around obstacles'],
   },
   'design-shotgun': {