diff --git a/apps/web/tests/cordis-tool-round.e2e.ts b/apps/web/tests/cordis-tool-round.e2e.ts
index 55435d86da..1000bc0aaf 100644
--- a/apps/web/tests/cordis-tool-round.e2e.ts
+++ b/apps/web/tests/cordis-tool-round.e2e.ts
@@ -75,7 +75,6 @@ describe('web e2e: Cordis tools use their owned cards', () => {
   beforeAll(async () => {
     scaffold = await launchWebScaffold({
       cordisTools: true,
-      extraOverlayPath: fileURLToPath(new URL('./cordis-tool-round.overlay.yml', import.meta.url)),
       compareReplaySession: true,
       ...(MODE === 'record' ? {} : { replayFixture: FIXTURE, paceMs: 15 }),
     })
diff --git a/apps/web/tests/cordis-tool-round.overlay.yml b/apps/web/tests/cordis-tool-round.overlay.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index e22f8fc759..0000000000
--- a/apps/web/tests/cordis-tool-round.overlay.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-# Keep the recorded Cordis lifecycle on its original model route.
-- id: agent-default-model
-  config:
-    provider: deepseek-official
-    model: deepseek-v4-flash
diff --git a/apps/web/tests/scaffold.ts b/apps/web/tests/scaffold.ts
index 2d9b118753..d1586408fd 100644
--- a/apps/web/tests/scaffold.ts
+++ b/apps/web/tests/scaffold.ts
@@ -515,6 +515,10 @@ export async function launchWebScaffold(options: LaunchOptions = {}): Promise<We
   const patches: PatchOptions[] = [
     ...basePatches,
     ...surfacePatches,
+    // Keyless scenarios retain the recorded default; explicit scenario overlays win.
+    ...mode === 'record' || options.deepSeekMissingCredential === true
+      ? []
+      : [{ id: 'agent-default-model', config: { provider: 'deepseek-official', model: 'deepseek-v4-flash' } }],
     ...extraOverlayPatches,
     // The roster's shipped presets are the plugin's own, bundled inside
     // `dsh-agent-presets` and prepended by it. Pin only the machine-local