diff --git a/e2e/score-history.spec.ts b/e2e/score-history.spec.ts
index a22b9382f..9fe5630f8 100644
--- a/e2e/score-history.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/score-history.spec.ts
@@ -314,9 +314,13 @@ test.describe("the dashboard's top card", () => {
       }),
     );
 
-    const hero = page.locator('[data-slot="today-hero"]');
+    // The card's region, present whenever the card is switched on. What it
+    // shows depends on the day's digest, which the server renders into the
+    // page before any route mock can answer, so the switch is asserted on
+    // the region and not on its content.
+    const hero = page.locator('[data-slot="today-card"]');
     await page.goto("/");
-    await expect(hero.first()).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(hero).toHaveCount(1);
 
     async function flip(expected: "checked" | "unchecked") {
       await page.goto("/settings/layout/dashboard");
@@ -356,6 +360,6 @@ test.describe("the dashboard's top card", () => {
 
     await flip("checked");
     await page.goto("/");
-    await expect(hero.first()).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(hero).toHaveCount(1);
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/app/page-client.tsx b/src/app/page-client.tsx
index 8e0bbde6a..d4d67a02f 100644
--- a/src/app/page-client.tsx
+++ b/src/app/page-client.tsx
@@ -971,19 +971,25 @@ export default function DashboardPageClient({
         // v1.42 — the top card can be switched off in the layout settings;
         // only an explicit `false` hides it, and with it its skeleton and
         // its error card.
-        layout.todayCardVisible === false ? null : digestQuery.data ? (
-          <TodayHero
-            digest={digestQuery.data}
-            renderFilteredAllClear={renderFilteredHeroAllClear}
-            // Server-persisted hero choice — rides the same resolved layout
-            // as the widget visibility below, so SSR and hydration agree.
-            primaryContent={layout.hero ?? "score"}
-          />
-        ) : !mounted || digestQuery.isLoading ? (
-          <TodayHeroSkeleton />
-        ) : digestQuery.isError ? (
-          <QueryErrorCard onRetry={() => digestQuery.refetch()} />
-        ) : null
+        layout.todayCardVisible === false ? null : (
+          // `contents`: a stable hook for the switch, no box of its own.
+          <div data-slot="today-card" className="contents">
+            {digestQuery.data ? (
+              <TodayHero
+                digest={digestQuery.data}
+                renderFilteredAllClear={renderFilteredHeroAllClear}
+                // Server-persisted hero choice — rides the same resolved
+                // layout as the widget visibility below, so SSR and
+                // hydration agree.
+                primaryContent={layout.hero ?? "score"}
+              />
+            ) : !mounted || digestQuery.isLoading ? (
+              <TodayHeroSkeleton />
+            ) : digestQuery.isError ? (
+              <QueryErrorCard onRetry={() => digestQuery.refetch()} />
+            ) : null}
+          </div>
+        )
       }
 
       {/* v1.42 (#615) — a quiet note about the newest stored environment