diff --git a/crates/sylpheed-formats/examples/try_anchor.rs b/crates/sylpheed-formats/examples/try_anchor.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..268f638
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/sylpheed-formats/examples/try_anchor.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+//! Does the capture-proven offset validate for the resource that should own it?
+use sylpheed_formats::mesh::debug_try_anchor;
+fn main() {
+    let a: Vec<String> = std::env::args().collect();
+    let bytes = std::fs::read(&a[1]).unwrap();
+    // The production scan tries pads 0..=3; pass a bigger one to ask whether the
+    // block would validate at all with a wider index/vertex gap.
+    let max_pad: usize = std::env::var("MAX_PAD").ok().and_then(|v| v.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(3);
+    for pair in a[2..].iter() {
+        let (name, off) = pair.split_once('@').unwrap();
+        let off = usize::from_str_radix(off.trim_start_matches("0x"), 16).unwrap();
+        match debug_try_anchor(&bytes, name, off, max_pad) {
+            Some((v, i, pad)) => println!("{name:22} @ 0x{off:x}  ACCEPTED  v={v} idx={i} pad={pad}"),
+            None => println!("{name:22} @ 0x{off:x}  rejected"),
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs b/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs
index ce26370..27023bc 100644
--- a/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs
+++ b/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs
@@ -613,6 +613,66 @@ impl Xbg7Model {
     }
 }
 
+/// Diagnostic: would the anchor scan accept `vb` as the vertex buffer of the
+/// named resource's first sub-mesh? A runtime capture proves which offset the
+/// engine drew from, so this answers whether the correct block is *acceptable*
+/// and merely lost the first-match race, or is rejected outright by
+/// `validate_block`. Returns `(vtx_count, index_count, accepted_pad)`.
+pub fn debug_try_anchor(
+    bytes: &[u8],
+    name: &str,
+    vb: usize,
+    max_pad: usize,
+) -> Option<(usize, usize, usize)> {
+    if bytes.len() < 16 || &bytes[..4] != b"XPR2" {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let mut cur = Cursor::new(bytes);
+    let header = Xpr2Header::read(&mut cur).ok()?;
+    const DIR_BASE: usize = 0x10;
+    for _ in 0..header.num_resources {
+        let Ok(e) = Xpr2ResourceEntry::read(&mut cur) else { break };
+        if &e.type_tag != b"XBG7" {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let desc = e.data_offset as usize + DIR_BASE;
+        let desc_end = (desc + e.descriptor_size as usize).min(bytes.len());
+        if desc >= bytes.len() || desc_end <= desc {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let rname = read_cstr(bytes, e.name_offset as usize + DIR_BASE)
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| "XBG7".to_string());
+        if rname != name {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let d = &bytes[desc..desc_end];
+        let markers = all_index_markers(d);
+        let decl = parse_vertex_decl(d)?;
+        let (vtx_count, index_count) = *markers.first()?;
+        let idx_bytes = index_count * 2;
+        for pad in 0..=max_pad {
+            if vb < idx_bytes + pad {
+                continue;
+            }
+            let mc = if pad == 0 { 0.0 } else { 0.85 };
+            if validate_block(
+                bytes,
+                vb - idx_bytes - pad,
+                vb,
+                vtx_count,
+                index_count,
+                &decl,
+                mc,
+                true,
+            ) {
+                return Some((vtx_count, index_count, pad));
+            }
+        }
+        return None;
+    }
+    None
+}
+
 /// Diagnostic: the candidate vertex-buffer starts the stage anchor scan will
 /// consider for a given `stride`, for one container. A runtime capture names the
 /// offsets the engine really drew from (see `examples/shared_vbase_check.rs`), so
diff --git a/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md b/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md
index 5bf3c76..ab32ecb 100644
--- a/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md
+++ b/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md
@@ -674,6 +674,36 @@ An assignment that is distinct by construction — each candidate used at most o
 offsets actually validate for their resources is the next thing to test; if they
 do, distinctness alone is the fix.
 
+**5. Do the proven offsets validate? Two of three — and that splits the fix.**
+`mesh::debug_try_anchor(bytes, name, vb, max_pad)` asks `validate_block` directly
+(`examples/try_anchor.rs`):
+
+| resource | proven offset | verdict |
+|---|---|---|
+| `e106_bdy_01_l` / `e106_bdy_02_l` | `0x3b3ee8` **and** `0x3c55d8` | **accepted for both, at both** (v=119, idx=246, pad=0) |
+| `e106_brg_01_l` / `e106_brg_01_b_02` | `0x40e418` | **accepted for both** (v=51, idx=126, pad=0) |
+| `e106_eng_02_l` | `0x44a32c` | **rejected** — and still rejected with the pad widened to 64 |
+
+So the twin case is exactly what it looked like: the correct block is perfectly
+acceptable and simply lost the first-match race, and a **distinct assignment**
+(each candidate buffer claimed by at most one resource) fixes it — the two
+resources have two accepted offsets between them. The bridge pair is weaker:
+`0x40e418` is accepted by both, our current `0x40de48` is accepted too, so
+distinctness would separate them but not choose correctly.
+
+`eng_02_l` is a different failure: the offset the engine drew from is **not
+acceptable at all**, so no selection policy can reach it. That is the
+"residual" class this file describes above, now with one member pinned to a
+concrete offset for the first time.
+
+❔ **An open discrepancy, recorded not explained.** The capture's `DRAW` lines
+carry an `indices=` field that does not agree with the descriptor's index count:
+the 119-vertex twin draws log `indices=21` where our marker says 246, and the
+44-vertex draw logs `indices=12`. Whether that field is an index *count* of a
+sub-range, a different unit, or a Xenia-side artifact is unknown — it may matter
+for `eng_02_l`, whose block validation is exactly what an index-count mismatch
+would break.
+
 Not settled: `e106_brg_01_b_02` ≡ `e106_brg_01_l` (51 verts). A second 51-vertex
 `vbase` exists in the logs but is **not** from this container, and the container
 holds three near-identical 51-vertex runs, so the pair has no oracle yet.