diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/planner_rules_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/planner_rules_test.go
index 1622f336..6b8dd23d 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/planner_rules_test.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/planner_rules_test.go
@@ -259,9 +259,8 @@ func TestASharedRepositoryMovesWhatPackagesItAsItDoesToday(t *testing.T) {
 		paths      []string
 		want       string
 	}{
-		// The live three-tier plan of 2026-10-08 (issue 338). It is also the worker-of order (issue 206)
-		// that TestAMergeIsPlannedInTiersAlongTheThreeKindsOfDependency's controller case predates: that
-		// fixture has no worker-of edge and expects the builder first, then the controller and the proxy.
+		// The live three-tier plan of 2026-10-08 (issue 338), in the worker-of order (issue 206) that
+		// TestAMergeIsPlannedInTiersAlongTheThreeKindsOfDependency's controller case holds too.
 		{"a README of the controller's repository moves all three, in three tiers", "mesh-controller",
 			[]string{"README.md"}, "mesh-controller | build-agent | route-proxy"},
 		{"the controller's own code: the same", "mesh-controller",
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan_test.go
index 066c6023..118a495b 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan_test.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan_test.go
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ func TestAMergeIsPlannedInTiersAlongTheThreeKindsOfDependency(t *testing.T) {
 		{From: "mesh-controller", To: "builder", Kind: inventory.EdgeBuiltBy},
 		{From: "mesh-tools", To: "builder", Kind: inventory.EdgeBuiltBy},
 		{From: "builder", To: "mesh-tools", Kind: inventory.EdgeStandsOn},
+		// the build seat's holder follows the controller that defines its worker (hq issue 206)
+		{From: "builder", To: "mesh-controller", Kind: inventory.EdgeWorkerOf},
 		{From: "unrelated", To: "alpine", Kind: inventory.EdgeStandsOn},
 	}
 	// The runtime image moved: everything on it, and what is built by what is on it.
@@ -62,12 +64,15 @@ func TestAMergeIsPlannedInTiersAlongTheThreeKindsOfDependency(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(small) != 3 {
 		t.Fatalf("a controller merge rebuilds the controller and what packages it: %v", small)
 	}
-	// The builder packages the controller's source (same tier by that edge) and the controller is
-	// built by the builder (next tier by that one): the builder first, then the controller and the
-	// proxy together — a code dependency in one tier, a runtime dependency across tiers.
+	// The builder and the proxy package the controller's source, which orders nothing. The builder holds
+	// the build seat, whose worker the controller defines, so it follows the controller (worker-of,
+	// novox/hq issue 206), and the controller's built-by edge to it yields: the controller is built by the
+	// build machine that is running. The proxy is built by the new builder: the controller, the builder,
+	// the proxy — the live plan of every controller merge. (This read "the builder, then the controller
+	// and the proxy together" before issue 206, and the fixture had no worker-of edge.)
 	smallTiers := tiersOf(small, edges)
-	if len(smallTiers) != 2 || smallTiers[0][0] != "builder" || len(smallTiers[1]) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("the builder, then the controller and the proxy together: %v", smallTiers)
+	if got := tiered(smallTiers); got != "mesh-controller | builder | route-proxy" {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller, then the builder, then the proxy: %v", smallTiers)
 	}
 	// The builder alone moved: the builder, and nothing it builds.
 	if only := reachableFrom([]string{"builder"}, edges); len(only) != 1 {