diff --git a/cmd/pyroscope/help-all.txt.tmpl b/cmd/pyroscope/help-all.txt.tmpl
index 3470e41c5c..d20783e9a0 100644
--- a/cmd/pyroscope/help-all.txt.tmpl
+++ b/cmd/pyroscope/help-all.txt.tmpl
@@ -935,6 +935,8 @@ Usage of ./pyroscope:
     	Port to advertise to query-scheduler and querier (defaults to -server.http-listen-port).
   -query-frontend.max-async-query-concurrency int
     	Maximum number of concurrent async queries per tenant. 0 to disable async queries. (default 5)
+  -query-frontend.query-planner-strategy string
+    	Sets the query planner strategy, options: classic, balanced (default "classic")
   -query-frontend.scheduler-worker-concurrency int
     	Number of concurrent workers forwarding queries to single query-scheduler. (default 5)
   -query-scheduler.grpc-client-config.backoff-max-period duration
diff --git a/cmd/pyroscope/help.txt.tmpl b/cmd/pyroscope/help.txt.tmpl
index e1ae759017..eab246e977 100644
--- a/cmd/pyroscope/help.txt.tmpl
+++ b/cmd/pyroscope/help.txt.tmpl
@@ -199,6 +199,8 @@ Usage of ./pyroscope:
     	Include profiles that were sampled out and stored with stacktraces stripped (marked __sampled__) in query results.
   -query-frontend.max-async-query-concurrency int
     	Maximum number of concurrent async queries per tenant. 0 to disable async queries. (default 5)
+  -query-frontend.query-planner-strategy string
+    	Sets the query planner strategy, options: classic, balanced (default "classic")
   -query-scheduler.max-outstanding-requests-per-tenant int
     	Maximum number of outstanding requests per tenant per query-scheduler. In-flight requests above this limit will fail with HTTP response status code 429. (default 100)
   -query-scheduler.ring.consul.hostname string
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/frontend.go b/pkg/frontend/frontend.go
index 6d7818451b..7b33dc1b01 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/frontend.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/frontend.go
@@ -54,6 +54,13 @@ type Config struct {
 	// on the request is rejected with Unimplemented.
 	AsyncQueriesEnabled bool `yaml:"async_queries_enabled" category:"experimental"`
 
+	// QueryPlannerStrategy sets the query planner strategy. By default this is
+	// "classic" which provides the legacy query planner behavior.
+	//
+	// Optionally this can be "balanced" which uses the balanced query planner
+	// algorithm.
+	QueryPlannerStrategy string `yaml:"query_planner_strategy" doc:"hidden"`
+
 	// Used to find local IP address, that is sent to scheduler and querier-worker.
 	InfNames   []string `yaml:"instance_interface_names" category:"advanced" doc:"default=[<private network interfaces>]"`
 	Addr       string   `yaml:"instance_addr" category:"advanced"`
@@ -79,6 +86,7 @@ func (cfg *Config) RegisterFlags(f *flag.FlagSet, logger log.Logger) {
 	f.BoolVar(&cfg.EnableIPv6, "query-frontend.instance-enable-ipv6", false, "Enable using a IPv6 instance address. (default false)")
 	f.IntVar(&cfg.Port, "query-frontend.instance-port", 0, "Port to advertise to query-scheduler and querier (defaults to -server.http-listen-port).")
 	f.BoolVar(&cfg.AsyncQueriesEnabled, "query-frontend.async-queries-enabled", false, "Enable the experimental asynchronous query path on SelectMergeStacktraces (default false)")
+	f.StringVar(&cfg.QueryPlannerStrategy, "query-frontend.query-planner-strategy", "classic", "Sets the query planner strategy, options: classic, balanced")
 	cfg.GRPCClientConfig.RegisterFlagsWithPrefix("query-frontend.grpc-client-config", f)
 }
 
@@ -87,6 +95,14 @@ func (cfg *Config) Validate() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("scheduler address cannot be specified when query-scheduler service discovery mode is set to '%s'", cfg.QuerySchedulerDiscovery.Mode)
 	}
 
+	switch cfg.QueryPlannerStrategy {
+	case "":
+		cfg.QueryPlannerStrategy = "classic"
+	case "classic", "balanced":
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("unknown query planner strategy: %q", cfg.QueryPlannerStrategy)
+	}
+
 	return cfg.GRPCClientConfig.Validate()
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend.go
index eb2796c2ae..ec2b5abd90 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend.go
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ type QueryFrontend struct {
 	symbolizer          Symbolizer
 	diagnosticsStore    DiagnosticsStore
 	now                 func() time.Time
+	queryPlanType       string
 
 	metrics *queryFrontendMetrics
 }
@@ -132,6 +133,7 @@ func newQueryFrontendMetrics(reg prometheus.Registerer) *queryFrontendMetrics {
 func NewQueryFrontend(
 	logger log.Logger,
 	limits frontend.Limits,
+	cfg frontend.Config,
 	metadataQueryClient metastorev1.MetadataQueryServiceClient,
 	tenantServiceClient metastorev1.TenantServiceClient,
 	querybackendClient QueryBackend,
@@ -148,6 +150,7 @@ func NewQueryFrontend(
 		symbolizer:          sym,
 		diagnosticsStore:    diagnosticsStore,
 		now:                 time.Now,
+		queryPlanType:       cfg.QueryPlannerStrategy,
 		metrics:             newQueryFrontendMetrics(reg),
 	}
 	return qf
@@ -228,7 +231,7 @@ func (q *QueryFrontend) doQuery(
 	endTime := time.UnixMilli(req.EndTime)
 	queryWindow := endTime.Sub(startTime).Round(time.Second)
 	traceID, _ := tracing.ExtractTraceID(ctx)
-	logArgs := []interface{}{
+	logArgs := []any{
 		"msg", "query weight",
 		"trace_id", traceID,
 		"tenant", strings.Join(tenants, ","),
@@ -255,8 +258,14 @@ func (q *QueryFrontend) doQuery(
 		blocks[i], blocks[j] = blocks[j], blocks[i]
 	})
 	xrandMutex.Unlock()
-	// TODO(kolesnikovae): Should be dynamic.
-	p := queryplan.Build(blocks, 4, 20)
+
+	var p *queryv1.QueryPlan
+	switch q.queryPlanType {
+	case "balanced":
+		p = queryplan.BuildBalanced(blocks, 4, 20)
+	default: // Always fallback to the classic planner
+		p = queryplan.Build(blocks, 4, 20)
+	}
 
 	backend := q.querybackend
 	if backendC != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend_test.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend_test.go
index 66f0a1ee71..9b749d3b92 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_frontend_test.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	typesv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/types/v1"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/block/metadata"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/featureflags"
+	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/frontend"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/tenant"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/test/mocks/mockfrontend"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/test/mocks/mockmetastorev1"
@@ -186,6 +187,7 @@ func Test_QueryFrontend_LabelNames_WithFiltering(t *testing.T) {
 			qf := NewQueryFrontend(
 				log.NewNopLogger(),
 				mockLimits,
+				frontend.Config{},
 				mockMetadataClient,
 				nil,
 				mockQueryBackend,
@@ -329,6 +331,7 @@ func Test_QueryFrontend_Series_WithLabelNameFiltering(t *testing.T) {
 			qf := NewQueryFrontend(
 				log.NewNopLogger(),
 				mockLimits,
+				frontend.Config{},
 				mockMetadataClient,
 				nil,
 				mockQueryBackend,
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_profile_test.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_profile_test.go
index 7b446e9cf2..d20b11622c 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_profile_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_profile_test.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	queryv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/query/v1"
 	typesv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/types/v1"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/block/metadata"
+	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/frontend"
 	phlaremodel "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/model"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/pprof"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/tenant"
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ func newSMPQueryFrontend(
 	return NewQueryFrontend(
 		log.NewNopLogger(),
 		limits,
+		frontend.Config{},
 		metaClient,
 		nil, // tenantServiceClient
 		backend,
@@ -682,6 +684,7 @@ func TestSelectMergeProfiles_Symbolization(t *testing.T) {
 			qf := NewQueryFrontend(
 				log.NewNopLogger(),
 				mockLimits,
+				frontend.Config{},
 				mockMetadataClient,
 				nil,
 				mockQueryBackend,
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_span_profile_test.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_span_profile_test.go
index 9c22bff2d0..47dc57bd04 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_span_profile_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_span_profile_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	querierv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/querier/v1"
 	queryv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/query/v1"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/block/metadata"
+	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/frontend"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/pprof"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/tenant"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/test/mocks/mockfrontend"
@@ -172,6 +173,7 @@ func TestSelectMergeSpanProfile_Symbolization(t *testing.T) {
 			qf := NewQueryFrontend(
 				log.NewNopLogger(),
 				mockLimits,
+				frontend.Config{},
 				mockMetadataClient,
 				nil,
 				mockQueryBackend,
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_stacktraces_test.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_stacktraces_test.go
index 0a9c6df7b6..4aeefca28e 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_stacktraces_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_merge_stacktraces_test.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	querierv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/querier/v1"
 	queryv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/query/v1"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/block/metadata"
+	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/frontend"
 	phlaremodel "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/model"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/pprof"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/tenant"
@@ -280,6 +281,7 @@ func TestSelectMergeStacktrace_Symbolization(t *testing.T) {
 			qf := NewQueryFrontend(
 				log.NewNopLogger(),
 				mockLimits,
+				frontend.Config{},
 				mockMetadataClient,
 				nil,
 				mockQueryBackend,
@@ -354,7 +356,7 @@ func TestSelectMergeStacktraces_DotFormat(t *testing.T) {
 			}},
 		}, nil)
 
-	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), mockLimits, mockMetadataClient, nil, mockQueryBackend, nil, nil, nil)
+	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), mockLimits, frontend.Config{}, mockMetadataClient, nil, mockQueryBackend, nil, nil, nil)
 
 	ctx := tenant.InjectTenantID(context.Background(), "tenant1")
 	start, end := smpValidTimeRange()
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_time_series_test.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_time_series_test.go
index 19c359665c..770b9f2777 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_time_series_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_select_time_series_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 
 	querierv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/querier/v1"
+	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/frontend"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/tenant"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/test/mocks/mockfrontend"
 )
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ func TestSelectSeries_RejectsSubMillisecondStep(t *testing.T) {
 			limits.On("MaxQueryLookback", "test-tenant").Return(time.Duration(0)).Maybe()
 			limits.On("MaxQueryLength", "test-tenant").Return(time.Duration(0)).Maybe()
 
-			qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), limits, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil)
+			qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), limits, frontend.Config{}, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil)
 			ctx := tenant.InjectTenantID(context.Background(), "test-tenant")
 
 			_, err := qf.SelectSeries(ctx, connect.NewRequest(&querierv1.SelectSeriesRequest{
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ func TestSelectHeatmap_RejectsSubMillisecondStep(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, step := range []float64{0, 0.0001, 0.0005, 0.0009999} {
 		t.Run("step="+formatStep(step), func(t *testing.T) {
 			limits := mockfrontend.NewMockLimits(t)
-			qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), limits, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil)
+			qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), limits, frontend.Config{}, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil)
 			ctx := tenant.InjectTenantID(context.Background(), "test-tenant")
 
 			_, err := qf.SelectHeatmap(ctx, connect.NewRequest(&querierv1.SelectHeatmapRequest{
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_series_labels_compat_test.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_series_labels_compat_test.go
index 89f46bc316..6be58c037e 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_series_labels_compat_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/query_series_labels_compat_test.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	metastorev1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/metastore/v1"
 	querierv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/querier/v1"
 	typesv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/types/v1"
+	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/frontend"
 	phlaremodel "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/model"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/tenant"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/test/mocks/mockfrontend"
@@ -136,6 +137,7 @@ func Test_QueryFrontend_Series_ProfileTypeQueryServedFromMetadata(t *testing.T)
 			qf := NewQueryFrontend(
 				log.NewNopLogger(),
 				mockLimits,
+				frontend.Config{},
 				mockMetadataClient,
 				nil,
 				mockQueryBackend,
diff --git a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/symbol_ref_resolve_test.go b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/symbol_ref_resolve_test.go
index 9c6259a87f..c039744d64 100644
--- a/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/symbol_ref_resolve_test.go
+++ b/pkg/frontend/readpath/queryfrontend/symbol_ref_resolve_test.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	querierv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/querier/v1"
 	queryv1 "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/api/gen/proto/go/query/v1"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/lidia"
+	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/frontend"
 	phlaremodel "github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/model"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/model/symbolref"
 	"github.com/grafana/pyroscope/v2/pkg/tenant"
@@ -177,7 +178,7 @@ func TestSelectMergeStacktracesTree_SymbolRefFlagOn(t *testing.T) {
 		}},
 	}, nil).Once()
 
-	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), mockLimits, mockMetadataClient, nil, mockQueryBackend, mockSymbolizer, nil, nil)
+	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), mockLimits, frontend.Config{}, mockMetadataClient, nil, mockQueryBackend, mockSymbolizer, nil, nil)
 
 	ctx := tenant.InjectTenantID(context.Background(), "tenant1")
 	start, end := smpValidTimeRange()
@@ -235,7 +236,7 @@ func TestSelectMergeStacktracesTree_SymbolRefResolution(t *testing.T) {
 		Blocks: []*metastorev1.BlockMeta{{Id: "block_id"}},
 	}, nil).Once()
 
-	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), mockLimits, mockMetadataClient, nil, mockQueryBackend, mockSymbolizer, nil, nil)
+	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), mockLimits, frontend.Config{}, mockMetadataClient, nil, mockQueryBackend, mockSymbolizer, nil, nil)
 
 	before := testutil.ToFloat64(qf.metrics.symbolRefLocationsTotal.WithLabelValues(symbolRefLocationResolved))
 
@@ -269,7 +270,7 @@ func TestSelectMergeStacktracesTree_SymbolRefResolution(t *testing.T) {
 // path (see TestRebuildInlineChainExpansionOrder for the Rebuild-side
 // contract).
 func TestBuildLookup_ReversesLidiaFrameOrder(t *testing.T) {
-	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), nil, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil)
+	qf := NewQueryFrontend(log.NewNopLogger(), nil, frontend.Config{}, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil)
 	lookup := qf.buildLookup([]binaryResolution{{
 		binary: symbolref.UnresolvedBinary{BuildID: "build-a", BinaryName: "libfoo.so", Addresses: []uint64{0x100}},
 		frames: [][]lidia.SourceInfoFrame{{
diff --git a/pkg/pyroscope/modules_experimental.go b/pkg/pyroscope/modules_experimental.go
index 4b5e43b8e1..1278af6594 100644
--- a/pkg/pyroscope/modules_experimental.go
+++ b/pkg/pyroscope/modules_experimental.go
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ func (f *Pyroscope) initQueryFrontendV2() (services.Service, error) {
 	f.queryFrontend = queryfrontend.NewQueryFrontend(
 		queryFrontendLogger,
 		f.Overrides,
+		f.Cfg.Frontend,
 		f.metastoreClient,
 		f.metastoreClient,
 		f.queryBackendClient,
@@ -145,6 +146,7 @@ func (f *Pyroscope) initQueryFrontendV12() (services.Service, error) {
 	f.queryFrontend = queryfrontend.NewQueryFrontend(
 		queryFrontendLogger,
 		f.Overrides,
+		f.Cfg.Frontend,
 		f.metastoreClient,
 		f.metastoreClient,
 		f.queryBackendClient,
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan.go b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan.go
index 475585d9d0..7e7582e94a 100644
--- a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan.go
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan.go
@@ -36,10 +36,7 @@ func Build(
 	leafNodeCount := (len(blocks) + maxReads - 1) / maxReads
 	nodes := allocateContiguous[queryv1.QueryNode](leafNodeCount)
 	for start, idx := 0, 0; start < len(blocks); start, idx = start+maxReads, idx+1 {
-		end := start + maxReads
-		if end > len(blocks) {
-			end = len(blocks)
-		}
+		end := min(start+maxReads, len(blocks))
 		nodes[idx].Type = queryv1.QueryNode_READ
 		nodes[idx].Blocks = blocks[start:end]
 	}
@@ -50,10 +47,7 @@ func Build(
 		mergeNodes := allocateContiguous[queryv1.QueryNode](mergeNodeCount)
 
 		for start, idx := 0, 0; start < len(nodes); start, idx = start+maxMerges, idx+1 {
-			end := start + maxMerges
-			if end > len(nodes) {
-				end = len(nodes)
-			}
+			end := min(start+maxMerges, len(nodes))
 			mergeNodes[idx].Type = queryv1.QueryNode_MERGE
 			mergeNodes[idx].Children = nodes[start:end:end]
 		}
@@ -66,6 +60,167 @@ func Build(
 	}
 }
 
+// BuildBalanced builds a balanced query tree where each node of the tree has a
+// similar number of blocks it needs to process compared to its siblings.
+func BuildBalanced(blocks []*metastorev1.BlockMeta, maxReads int, maxMerges int) *queryv1.QueryPlan {
+	if len(blocks) == 0 || maxReads < 1 || maxMerges < 2 {
+		return new(queryv1.QueryPlan)
+	}
+
+	leafNodeCount := (len(blocks) + maxReads - 1) / maxReads
+	nodes := allocateContiguous[queryv1.QueryNode](leafNodeCount)
+
+	// Uniformly assign blocks to leaf nodes.
+	var start int
+	for idx := range leafNodeCount {
+		end := (idx + 1) * len(blocks) / leafNodeCount
+		nodes[idx].Type = queryv1.QueryNode_READ
+		nodes[idx].Blocks = blocks[start:end:end]
+		start = end
+	}
+
+	// Recursively build a balanced tree of merge nodes.
+	root := buildMergeTree(nodes, maxMerges)
+	return &queryv1.QueryPlan{
+		Root: root,
+	}
+}
+
+// buildMergeTree will recursively create a query tree of merge nodes with at
+// most maxMerges number of children. At each level, the tree will maintain a
+// similar number of blocks assigned to each merge node compared to its
+// siblings.
+//
+// The algorithm is straightforward, but it has nuances. Since len(nodes) > 1,
+// we know we need to create a merge node and place nodes underneath it.
+//
+// When creating a merge node we want to partition the nodes evenly into groups
+// such that we have no more than maxMerges groups (since a given merge node
+// cannot exceed maxMerges children). Once we select a number of groups, we use
+// balanceGroupItems to evenly (as evenly as possible) spread the nodes across
+// all the groups.
+//
+// It's important to note that we want to select a groupSize which is a power of
+// maxMerges. This ensures that each subtree has the same depth as its siblings.
+//
+// As an example, consider the following input:
+//
+//	maxMerges = 3
+//	nodes     = [ n0 n1 n2 n3 n4 n5 n6 n7 n8 n9 ]
+//
+// We want to partition nodes such that each group has an even number of
+// nodes itself. Naively we could compute:
+//
+//	groupSize = ceil(len(nodes) / maxMerges)
+//
+// However, this would result in an imbalanced tree:
+//
+//	[                   M0                  ]
+//	[ n0 n1 n2 n3 ] [ n4 n5 n6 ] [ n7 n8 n9 ]
+//
+// From here, the first partition was given 4 nodes, which exceeds maxMerges,
+// so it needs to be broken down further. The other two partitions have 3 nodes,
+// so they do not need to be branched further. After splitting the first
+// partition, the tree becomes imbalanced.
+//
+//	[                     M0                    ]
+//	[        M1       ] [ n4 n5 n6 ] [ n7 n8 n9 ]
+//	[ n0 n1 ] [ n2 n3 ]
+//
+// Instead, we select the largest power of maxMerges K that's less than
+// len(nodes). In this case:
+//
+//	K = maxMerges^N
+//	  for max(N) and maxMerges^N < len(nodes)
+//	if N = 2, then 3^2 < 10 so K = 9
+//
+// If we allow K to represent the largest size of a partition, we can calculate
+// how many partitions we need:
+//
+//	# of partitions = ceil(len(nodes) / K)
+//	                = ceil(10 / 5)
+//	                = 2
+//
+// Now we can balance the nodes across 2 partitions:
+//
+//	[                 M0                ]
+//	[ n0 n1 n2 n3 n4 ] [ n5 n6 n7 n8 n9 ]
+//
+// Both partitions exceed maxMerges, so we repeat the algorithm:
+//
+//	[                     M0                    ]
+//	[         M1         ] [         M2         ]
+//	[ n0 n1 n2 ] [ n3 n4 ] [ n5 n6 n7 ] [ n8 n9 ]
+//
+// At this point, each subtree does the same amount of work as its siblings.
+//
+// As a theoretical note, this algorithm may produce an imbalanced depth tree
+// if the len(nodes) is not a pwer of maxMerges and maxMerges = 2. This case is
+// unlikely in production--as maxMerges = 20 is common--but also irrelevant to
+// performance overall since such a low maxMerges value would produce other
+// inefficiencies.
+func buildMergeTree(nodes []*queryv1.QueryNode, maxMerges int) *queryv1.QueryNode {
+	if len(nodes) == 1 {
+		// The base case, this is a leaf node.
+		return nodes[0]
+	}
+
+	// We have len(nodes) number of nodes. We need to partition them into groups
+	// such that we have no more than maxMerges number of groups. Importantly, we
+	// want a group size such that we don't place all the nodes into a single
+	// group.
+	groupSize := 1
+	for groupSize*maxMerges < len(nodes) {
+		groupSize *= maxMerges
+	}
+
+	// Given groupSize as the maximum number of nodes that can be assigned to
+	// each subtree, we calculate
+	//
+	//	ceil(len(nodes) / groupSize)
+	//
+	// to determine how many children this node will have.
+	childCount := (len(nodes) + groupSize - 1) / groupSize
+
+	parent := &queryv1.QueryNode{
+		Type:     queryv1.QueryNode_MERGE,
+		Children: make([]*queryv1.QueryNode, childCount),
+	}
+
+	// Evenly distribute all the nodes to each child of this merge node.
+	var start int
+	for idx := range childCount {
+		end := start + balanceGroupItems(len(nodes), childCount, idx)
+		parent.Children[idx] = buildMergeTree(nodes[start:end], maxMerges)
+		start = end
+	}
+
+	return parent
+}
+
+// balanceGroupItems will take numItems and distribute them evenly across
+// numGroups groups. If there is a remainder R, that remainder is then spread
+// evenly across the first R groups. It returns the number of items groupIdx
+// should have for all groups to remain balanced.
+//
+// For example, given these parameters:
+//
+//	numItems  = 5
+//	numGroups = 3
+//
+// We would get the following (for various values of groupIdx):
+//
+//	Group 0: 2
+//	Group 1: 2
+//	Group 2: 1
+func balanceGroupItems(numItems int, numGroups int, groupIdx int) int {
+	groupSize := numItems / numGroups
+	if groupIdx < numItems%numGroups {
+		groupSize++
+	}
+	return groupSize
+}
+
 // allocateContiguous returns a []*T of length size where every element points
 // into a single backing []T allocation. This avoids the per-element heap
 // allocations from N separate &T{} expressions.
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan_test.go b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan_test.go
index 318238bbdc..240b05ec7f 100644
--- a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan_test.go
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/query_plan_test.go
@@ -20,9 +20,14 @@ import (
 
 var update = flag.Bool("update", false, "rewrite golden files in testdata/ from the current plan output")
 
-// Test_Build verifies the shape of query plans produced by Build against
-// golden files in testdata/. Each subtest's golden file is named after the
-// subtest. E.g. Test_Build/single_block reads testdata/single_block.txt.
+// Test_Build verifies the shape of query plans produced by Build and
+// BuildBalanced against golden files in testdata/, running both builders over
+// the same input table so the two algorithms are easy to compare. Each
+// subtest's golden file is named after the subtest: Build's golden file is
+// named after the case (e.g. Test_Build/single_block reads
+// testdata/single_block.txt), and BuildBalanced's is named after the case
+// with a "balanced_" prefix (e.g. Test_Build/balanced_single_block reads
+// testdata/balanced_single_block.txt).
 //
 // To regenerate all golden files:
 //
@@ -30,7 +35,7 @@ var update = flag.Bool("update", false, "rewrite golden files in testdata/ from
 //
 // To regenerate a specific golden file:
 //
-//	go test ./pkg/querybackend/queryplan/ -run Test_Build/<name> -update
+//	go test ./pkg/querybackend/queryplan/ -run 'Test_Build/<name>$' -update
 func Test_Build(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name      string
@@ -47,35 +52,49 @@ func Test_Build(t *testing.T) {
 		{name: "full_depth_2", blocks: 6, maxReads: 2, maxMerges: 3},
 		{name: "just_over_depth_2", blocks: 7, maxReads: 2, maxMerges: 3},
 		{name: "twenty_five_blocks", blocks: 25, maxReads: 2, maxMerges: 3},
+		{name: "full_merge_vs_single_leaf_merge", blocks: 33, maxReads: 4, maxMerges: 8},
+		{name: "forced_equal_split", blocks: 16, maxReads: 1, maxMerges: 8},
+		{name: "three_way_split", blocks: 20, maxReads: 1, maxMerges: 8},
+	}
+
+	builders := []struct {
+		name   string
+		build  func(blocks []*metastorev1.BlockMeta, maxReads, maxMerges int) *queryv1.QueryPlan
+		prefix string
+	}{
+		{name: "Build", build: Build, prefix: "build_"},
+		{name: "BuildBalanced", build: BuildBalanced, prefix: "balanced_"},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {
-		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			blocks := makeBlocks(tt.blocks)
-			p := Build(blocks, tt.maxReads, tt.maxMerges)
+		for _, b := range builders {
+			t.Run(b.prefix+tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+				blocks := makeBlocks(tt.blocks)
+				p := b.build(blocks, tt.maxReads, tt.maxMerges)
 
-			var buf bytes.Buffer
-			writePlan(t, &buf, "", p.Root)
+				var buf bytes.Buffer
+				writePlan(t, &buf, "", p.Root)
 
-			// Ensure that the plan has not been modified during traversal.
-			assert.Equal(t, Build(blocks, tt.maxReads, tt.maxMerges), p)
+				// Ensure that the plan has not been modified during traversal.
+				assert.Equal(t, b.build(blocks, tt.maxReads, tt.maxMerges), p)
 
-			if *update {
-				require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(goldenFile(t), buf.Bytes(), 0o644))
-				return
-			}
+				if *update {
+					require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(goldenFile(t), buf.Bytes(), 0o644))
+					return
+				}
 
-			expected, err := os.ReadFile(goldenFile(t))
-			require.NoError(t, err)
-			assert.Equal(t, string(expected), buf.String())
-		})
+				expected, err := os.ReadFile(goldenFile(t))
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				assert.Equal(t, string(expected), buf.String())
+			})
+		}
 	}
 }
 
 // makeBlocks creates n BlockMeta with sequential string IDs starting at "1".
 func makeBlocks(n int) []*metastorev1.BlockMeta {
 	blocks := make([]*metastorev1.BlockMeta, n)
-	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
+	for i := range n {
 		blocks[i] = &metastorev1.BlockMeta{Id: strconv.Itoa(i + 1)}
 	}
 	return blocks
@@ -90,6 +109,42 @@ func goldenFile(t *testing.T) string {
 	return filepath.Join("testdata", parts[len(parts)-1]+".txt")
 }
 
+// Test_balanceGroupItems verifies that items are spread evenly across groups,
+// with any remainder distributed one-per-group starting from group 0.
+func Test_balanceGroupItems(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name      string
+		numItems  int
+		numGroups int
+		want      []int // want[i] is the expected size of group i
+	}{
+		{name: "zero_items", numItems: 0, numGroups: 3, want: []int{0, 0, 0}},
+		{name: "single_group", numItems: 5, numGroups: 1, want: []int{5}},
+		{name: "even_split", numItems: 6, numGroups: 3, want: []int{2, 2, 2}},
+		{name: "remainder_spread", numItems: 5, numGroups: 3, want: []int{2, 2, 1}},
+		{name: "remainder_almost_full", numItems: 8, numGroups: 3, want: []int{3, 3, 2}},
+		{name: "one_item_per_group", numItems: 3, numGroups: 3, want: []int{1, 1, 1}},
+		{name: "more_groups_than_items", numItems: 2, numGroups: 5, want: []int{1, 1, 0, 0, 0}},
+		{name: "no_items", numItems: 0, numGroups: 1, want: []int{0}},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			require.Len(t, tt.want, tt.numGroups, "test case is malformed: want must have numGroups elements")
+
+			got := make([]int, tt.numGroups)
+			sum := 0
+			for idx := range tt.numGroups {
+				got[idx] = balanceGroupItems(tt.numItems, tt.numGroups, idx)
+				sum += got[idx]
+			}
+
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, got)
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.numItems, sum, "group sizes must sum back to numItems")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 // writePlan writes an indented textual representation of the plan rooted at
 // n to w. A nil root produces no output. The test fails on malformed nodes.
 func writePlan(t *testing.T, w io.Writer, pad string, n *queryv1.QueryNode) {
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/empty.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_empty.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/empty.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_empty.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/exact_one_leaf.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_exact_one_leaf.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/exact_one_leaf.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_exact_one_leaf.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_forced_equal_split.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_forced_equal_split.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..08aff02ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_forced_equal_split.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 8, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"1"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"2"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"3"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"4"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"5"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"6"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"7"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"8"
+	MERGE {children: 8, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"9"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"10"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"11"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"12"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"13"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"14"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"15"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"16"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/full_depth_2.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_full_depth_2.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/full_depth_2.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_full_depth_2.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_full_merge_vs_single_leaf_merge.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_full_merge_vs_single_leaf_merge.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..44384abc9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_full_merge_vs_single_leaf_merge.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 5, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 3}
+			id:"1"
+			id:"2"
+			id:"3"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"4"
+			id:"5"
+			id:"6"
+			id:"7"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"8"
+			id:"9"
+			id:"10"
+			id:"11"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 3}
+			id:"12"
+			id:"13"
+			id:"14"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"15"
+			id:"16"
+			id:"17"
+			id:"18"
+	MERGE {children: 4, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"19"
+			id:"20"
+			id:"21"
+			id:"22"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 3}
+			id:"23"
+			id:"24"
+			id:"25"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"26"
+			id:"27"
+			id:"28"
+			id:"29"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"30"
+			id:"31"
+			id:"32"
+			id:"33"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/invalid_max_merges.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_invalid_max_merges.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/invalid_max_merges.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_invalid_max_merges.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/invalid_max_reads.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_invalid_max_reads.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/invalid_max_reads.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_invalid_max_reads.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_just_over_depth_2.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_just_over_depth_2.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..53feaac55b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_just_over_depth_2.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"1"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+			id:"2"
+			id:"3"
+	MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+			id:"4"
+			id:"5"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+			id:"6"
+			id:"7"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/single_block.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_single_block.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/single_block.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_single_block.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_three_way_split.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_three_way_split.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6bf750c031
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_three_way_split.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+MERGE {children: 3, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 7, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"1"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"2"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"3"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"4"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"5"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"6"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"7"
+	MERGE {children: 7, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"8"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"9"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"10"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"11"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"12"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"13"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"14"
+	MERGE {children: 6, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"15"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"16"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"17"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"18"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"19"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"20"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_twenty_five_blocks.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_twenty_five_blocks.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ad8ac16d21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_twenty_five_blocks.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 3, blocks: 0}
+		MERGE {children: 3, blocks: 0}
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+				id:"1"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"2"
+				id:"3"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"4"
+				id:"5"
+		MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"6"
+				id:"7"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"8"
+				id:"9"
+		MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"10"
+				id:"11"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"12"
+				id:"13"
+	MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+		MERGE {children: 3, blocks: 0}
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"14"
+				id:"15"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"16"
+				id:"17"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"18"
+				id:"19"
+		MERGE {children: 3, blocks: 0}
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"20"
+				id:"21"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"22"
+				id:"23"
+			READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+				id:"24"
+				id:"25"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_two_leaves.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_two_leaves.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a5313fd486
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/balanced_two_leaves.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+	READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+		id:"1"
+	READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+		id:"2"
+		id:"3"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_empty.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_empty.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_exact_one_leaf.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_exact_one_leaf.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a680a080ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_exact_one_leaf.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+	id:"1"
+	id:"2"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_forced_equal_split.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_forced_equal_split.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..08aff02ba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_forced_equal_split.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 8, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"1"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"2"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"3"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"4"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"5"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"6"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"7"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"8"
+	MERGE {children: 8, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"9"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"10"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"11"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"12"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"13"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"14"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"15"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"16"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_full_depth_2.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_full_depth_2.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bdb06b694c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_full_depth_2.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+MERGE {children: 3, blocks: 0}
+	READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+		id:"1"
+		id:"2"
+	READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+		id:"3"
+		id:"4"
+	READ {children: 0, blocks: 2}
+		id:"5"
+		id:"6"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_full_merge_vs_single_leaf_merge.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_full_merge_vs_single_leaf_merge.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e8316ea5e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_full_merge_vs_single_leaf_merge.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+MERGE {children: 2, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 8, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"1"
+			id:"2"
+			id:"3"
+			id:"4"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"5"
+			id:"6"
+			id:"7"
+			id:"8"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"9"
+			id:"10"
+			id:"11"
+			id:"12"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"13"
+			id:"14"
+			id:"15"
+			id:"16"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"17"
+			id:"18"
+			id:"19"
+			id:"20"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"21"
+			id:"22"
+			id:"23"
+			id:"24"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"25"
+			id:"26"
+			id:"27"
+			id:"28"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 4}
+			id:"29"
+			id:"30"
+			id:"31"
+			id:"32"
+	MERGE {children: 1, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"33"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_invalid_max_merges.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_invalid_max_merges.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_invalid_max_reads.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_invalid_max_reads.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/just_over_depth_2.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_just_over_depth_2.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/just_over_depth_2.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_just_over_depth_2.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_single_block.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_single_block.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e0e4cf04c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_single_block.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+	id:"1"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_three_way_split.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_three_way_split.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..780dc17603
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_three_way_split.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+MERGE {children: 3, blocks: 0}
+	MERGE {children: 8, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"1"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"2"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"3"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"4"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"5"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"6"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"7"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"8"
+	MERGE {children: 8, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"9"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"10"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"11"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"12"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"13"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"14"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"15"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"16"
+	MERGE {children: 4, blocks: 0}
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"17"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"18"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"19"
+		READ {children: 0, blocks: 1}
+			id:"20"
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/twenty_five_blocks.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_twenty_five_blocks.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/twenty_five_blocks.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_twenty_five_blocks.txt
diff --git a/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/two_leaves.txt b/pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_two_leaves.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/two_leaves.txt
rename to pkg/querybackend/queryplan/testdata/build_two_leaves.txt