diff --git a/bin/utils/nomarchy-eval-matrix b/bin/utils/nomarchy-eval-matrix
index 94afd38..84d276c 100755
--- a/bin/utils/nomarchy-eval-matrix
+++ b/bin/utils/nomarchy-eval-matrix
@@ -1,29 +1,38 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # nomarchy-eval-matrix
 #
-# Evaluates the opt-in nomarchy.* surface that `nix flake check` never
-# touches. flake check only evaluates the four default configs, so a bug
+# Evaluates the opt-in nomarchy.* surface that the per-output flake check
+# never touches. flake check only evaluates the default configs, so a bug
 # that only fires when a toggle is flipped — a renamed option, a failed
 # assertion, a stale reference — sails straight through. Two such bugs
 # shipped to main before this existed (the vscode option rename and the
 # impermanence systemd-stage-1 assertion); both would have been caught
 # here.
 #
-# Each toggle scenario is layered onto nixosConfigurations.default via
-# extendModules and its system.build.toplevel.drvPath is forced (which
-# also forces the assertion checks). Every palette is forced through the
-# system-side Plymouth colour math (which allThemeVariants, being
-# home-only, doesn't exercise). Both standalone homeConfigurations are
-# forced too.
+# Cost matters: this runs in CI on a small self-hosted runner, and the
+# first cut (one full `extendModules` eval per individual toggle, plus one
+# per palette) did ~39 whole-system evaluations and ran ~3h. So:
 #
-# Per-scenario results come from builtins.tryEval so one failure doesn't
-# mask the rest — the whole matrix runs, then the script exits non-zero
-# if anything failed.
+#   * Compatible toggles are COMBINED into a few configs (a failure means
+#     re-run the offending toggle alone to pinpoint it — see the trace hint
+#     at the end). laptop vs desktop formFactor conflict, so they split;
+#     impermanence's multi-disk variant gets its own config for the alt
+#     mainLuksName.
+#   * Palettes are checked DIRECTLY via the lib — the per-palette risk is
+#     the system-side Plymouth base00 → RGB math (fromHexString of 2-char
+#     slices in themes/engine/plymouth.nix), which is pure and needs no
+#     module-system instantiation. Forcing the whole palette attrset also
+#     catches a missing/garbled palette.
+#   * The standalone homeConfigurations aren't re-checked here — the
+#     per-output flake-check step already forces both.
 #
-#   nomarchy-eval-matrix          # run the full matrix, table + exit code
+# Net: a handful of full evals instead of ~39. Results come from
+# builtins.tryEval so one failure doesn't mask the rest.
 #
-# Add a scenario by editing the `toggleScenarios` attrset in the embedded
-# Nix expression below.
+#   nomarchy-eval-matrix          # run the matrix, table + exit code
+#
+# Add a new opt-in option's coverage by dropping it into the relevant
+# combined scenario in the `scenarios` attrset below.
 
 set -u
 
@@ -36,50 +45,71 @@ read -r -d '' EXPR <<'NIXEOF' || true
 let
   f = builtins.getFlake (toString ./.);
   lib = f.inputs.nixpkgs.lib;
-  themeNames = (import ./lib { inherit lib; }).themeNames;
+  nl = import ./lib { inherit lib; };
   default = f.nixosConfigurations.default;
 
-  # Opt-in toggles layered onto the default config. Home-side options go
-  # under home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.*; system-side directly.
-  toggleScenarios = {
-    "impermanence-single"  = { nomarchy.system.impermanence.enable = true; };
-    "impermanence-multi"   = { nomarchy.system.impermanence = { enable = true; mainLuksName = "crypted_main"; }; };
-    "laptop-preset"        = { nomarchy.system = { formFactor = "laptop"; laptop.enable = true; }; };
-    "desktop-preset"       = { nomarchy.system = { formFactor = "desktop"; desktop.enable = true; }; };
-    "accessibility-system" = { nomarchy.system.accessibility.enable = true; };
-    "gaming-system"        = { nomarchy.system.gaming.enable = true; };
-    "hybrid-gpu"           = { nomarchy.system.features.hybridGPU = true; };
-    "hibernation"          = { nomarchy.system.hibernation.enable = true; };
-    "docker"               = { nomarchy.system.virtualization.docker.enable = true; };
-    "fwupd"                = { nomarchy.hardware.fwupd = true; };
-    "accessibility-home"   = { home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.accessibility.enable = true; };
-    "gaming-home"          = { home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.gaming.enable = true; };
-    "overrides"            = { home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.overrides.enable = true; };
-    "panel-bottom"         = { home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.panelPosition = "bottom"; };
-    "keymap-variant"       = { home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.keymap = { layout = "de"; variant = "nodeadkeys"; }; };
-    "toggles-off"          = { home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.toggles = { waybar = false; idle = false; nightlight = false; }; };
-  };
-
   forced = x: (builtins.tryEval (builtins.seq x true)).success;
 
-  tryToplevel = mod:
+  # Combined opt-in scenarios. Each enables as many compatible toggles as
+  # possible so CI does ~3 full-system evals, not one per toggle. Home-side
+  # options go under home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy.*.
+  scenarios = {
+    # laptop formFactor + every compatible system/home toggle + impermanence.
+    "laptop-stack" = {
+      nomarchy.system = {
+        formFactor = "laptop";
+        laptop.enable = true;
+        accessibility.enable = true;
+        gaming.enable = true;
+        features.hybridGPU = true;
+        hibernation.enable = true;
+        virtualization.docker.enable = true;
+        impermanence.enable = true;
+      };
+      nomarchy.hardware.fwupd = true;
+      home-manager.users.nomarchy.nomarchy = {
+        accessibility.enable = true;
+        gaming.enable = true;
+        overrides.enable = true;
+        panelPosition = "bottom";
+        keymap = { layout = "de"; variant = "nodeadkeys"; };
+        toggles = { waybar = false; idle = false; nightlight = false; };
+      };
+    };
+
+    # desktop preset — conflicts with the laptop formFactor, so its own eval.
+    "desktop-stack" = {
+      nomarchy.system = { formFactor = "desktop"; desktop.enable = true; };
+    };
+
+    # impermanence multi-disk variant (alternate mainLuksName).
+    "impermanence-multi" = {
+      nomarchy.system.impermanence = { enable = true; mainLuksName = "crypted_main"; };
+    };
+  };
+
+  evalToplevel = mod:
     forced (default.extendModules { modules = [ mod ]; }).config.system.build.toplevel.drvPath;
 
-  # Palettes only need the system-side Plymouth path forced — that's the
-  # per-palette base00 → RGB float math in themes/engine/plymouth.nix that
-  # the home-only allThemeVariants never reaches.
-  tryPalette = name:
-    forced (default.extendModules { modules = [ { nomarchy.system.theme = name; } ]; }).config.boot.plymouth.themePackages;
-
-  tryHome = name: forced f.homeConfigurations.${name}.activationPackage.drvPath;
+  # base00 → the three byte values the Plymouth template substitutes; plus
+  # the whole palette attrset, so a missing/garbled palette is caught.
+  paletteOk = name:
+    let
+      p = nl.getPalette name;
+      b = p.base00;
+      bytes = [
+        (lib.fromHexString (lib.substring 0 2 b))
+        (lib.fromHexString (lib.substring 2 2 b))
+        (lib.fromHexString (lib.substring 4 2 b))
+      ];
+    in forced (builtins.deepSeq [ p bytes ] true);
 in {
-  toggles  = builtins.mapAttrs (_: tryToplevel) toggleScenarios;
-  palettes = builtins.listToAttrs (map (n: { name = n; value = tryPalette n; }) themeNames);
-  home     = builtins.listToAttrs (map (n: { name = n; value = tryHome n; }) [ "nomarchy" "nixos" ]);
+  scenarios = builtins.mapAttrs (_: evalToplevel) scenarios;
+  palettes  = builtins.listToAttrs (map (n: { name = n; value = paletteOk n; }) nl.themeNames);
 }
 NIXEOF
 
-echo "Evaluating opt-in toggle + palette + home matrix (this takes a few minutes)..."
+echo "Evaluating combined toggle scenarios + per-palette colour math..."
 json="$("${NIX[@]}" eval --impure --json --expr "$EXPR" 2>/tmp/eval-matrix.err)"
 status=$?
 if [[ $status -ne 0 || -z "$json" ]]; then
@@ -106,13 +136,13 @@ render() {
   done < <(echo "$json" | jq -r --arg s "$section" '.[$s] | to_entries[] | "\(.key)\t\(.value)"' | sort)
 }
 
-render toggles
+render scenarios
 render palettes
-render home
 
 echo
 if [[ $fails -gt 0 ]]; then
-  echo "$fails scenario(s) failed to evaluate. Re-run the failing one directly for the trace, e.g.:"
+  echo "$fails scenario(s) failed to evaluate. A combined scenario bundles several"
+  echo "toggles — re-run the suspects individually for the trace, e.g.:"
   echo "  nix eval --impure --show-trace --expr 'let f = builtins.getFlake (toString ./.); in (f.nixosConfigurations.default.extendModules { modules = [ { <the toggle> } ]; }).config.system.build.toplevel.drvPath'"
   exit 1
 fi
diff --git a/docs/AGENT.md b/docs/AGENT.md
index bb36857..62ef37c 100644
--- a/docs/AGENT.md
+++ b/docs/AGENT.md
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ Steps you should follow for any non-trivial change:
    ```bash
    ./bin/utils/nomarchy-eval-matrix
    ```
-   When you **add or rename an opt-in `nomarchy.*` option**, add a matching scenario to the `toggleScenarios` attrset in that script — otherwise the new surface is unverified and the next eval-time bug in it ships silently (this is exactly how the impermanence assertion and the vscode option rename reached `main`). The matrix also runs in CI (`.gitea/workflows/check.yml`).
+   When you **add or rename an opt-in `nomarchy.*` option**, fold it into the relevant combined scenario in the `scenarios` attrset in that script (the scenarios bundle many compatible toggles per eval to stay fast on the CI runner) — otherwise the new surface is unverified and the next eval-time bug in it ships silently (this is exactly how the impermanence assertion and the vscode option rename reached `main`). The matrix also runs in CI (`.gitea/workflows/check.yml`).
    First clone? Enable the repo's pre-commit hook so `docs/SCRIPTS.md` regenerates whenever you add/modify/remove a `nomarchy-*` script:
    ```bash
    git config core.hooksPath .githooks