CARD K1-09  (pre-registered 2026-09-26 02:24:13 -0700)
Base: k08 (held lab: frame 0x126c, slot map identical to January except the alignment i/j x87 pair, 24 hunks,
  [size 8048!=8064]).
Observed (tools/lendiff.py): the remaining 16-byte code deficit is 7 jcc encodings whose TARGETS differ: the
  "print disabled" skips of the requirement checks. January: host+status skips -> status's own
  "any_requirements_failed = TRUE" tail (0xb7c); nosubrace+nocausrace+nodmg skips -> nodmg's tail (0xca8): the
  SOURCE-LAST arm hosts each merged tail. Ours: the source-FIRST arm hosts (0xa8f, 0xbda).
Mechanism (memory: switch tail-merge decoded): the backend tail-merge host is the arm whose jump ref is earlier on
  the target label's list, and the reader lists jumps in REVERSE source order => with a jump per arm to one label
  the source-LAST arm hosts.
Source evidence (D, /Od 0x48ea98/0x48eaed/0x48ebeb/0x48ec6c/0x48eced/0x48ed65): every requirement failure is
  "any_requirements_failed = TRUE" followed by a JMP to the loop-continue block 0x48e92d, i.e. "continue;".
  Ours falls out of an if/else-if chain instead.
Change: append "continue;" after each of the six "any_requirements_failed = TRUE;" (chain and final else kept).
Prediction: the 7 jcc length/target diffs vanish; code grows ~16 B; padded size 8064; hunks <= 22.
