diff --git a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/cli.js b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/cli.js
index a195f25f..52547cc2 100644
--- a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/cli.js
+++ b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/cli.js
@@ -28151,7 +28151,17 @@ var ExecutionManifestSchema = external_exports.object({
     // Distinct from 'verdict-failed' (which implies a quality problem) and from
     // 'reviewer-no-session-result' (file-absent skipped-first-call path). Carries
     // the FR45 guidance so the operator knows how to resolve the setup issue.
-    "review-could-not-run"
+    "review-could-not-run",
+    // Story native:01KVVJNMHDWZZS366S1BY188CG: the VERDICT step itself could not
+    // produce a readable result — processReviewerTranscript errored (e.g. an
+    // unrecognised recommendedVerdict token / non-JSON reviewer-result file →
+    // ReviewerResultFileMalformedError → MCP isError with no `next`) or its
+    // courier relay garbled (seam _parseError). A green, finished story whose
+    // verdict step cannot produce a result is a re-runnable SETUP problem, NOT a
+    // quality failure — so it is held distinctly from 'verdict-failed' (a quality
+    // problem) and, mirroring 'review-could-not-run' but naming the VERDICT step,
+    // distinctly from a review that could not RUN (AC3).
+    "verdict-could-not-run"
   ]).optional(),
   /**
    * Structured violation list for manifests blocked by `planning-discipline`.
diff --git a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/index.js b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/index.js
index e801de2a..e3802f09 100644
--- a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/index.js
+++ b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/dist/index.js
@@ -38130,7 +38130,17 @@ var ExecutionManifestSchema = external_exports.object({
     // Distinct from 'verdict-failed' (which implies a quality problem) and from
     // 'reviewer-no-session-result' (file-absent skipped-first-call path). Carries
     // the FR45 guidance so the operator knows how to resolve the setup issue.
-    "review-could-not-run"
+    "review-could-not-run",
+    // Story native:01KVVJNMHDWZZS366S1BY188CG: the VERDICT step itself could not
+    // produce a readable result — processReviewerTranscript errored (e.g. an
+    // unrecognised recommendedVerdict token / non-JSON reviewer-result file →
+    // ReviewerResultFileMalformedError → MCP isError with no `next`) or its
+    // courier relay garbled (seam _parseError). A green, finished story whose
+    // verdict step cannot produce a result is a re-runnable SETUP problem, NOT a
+    // quality failure — so it is held distinctly from 'verdict-failed' (a quality
+    // problem) and, mirroring 'review-could-not-run' but naming the VERDICT step,
+    // distinctly from a review that could not RUN (AC3).
+    "verdict-could-not-run"
   ]).optional(),
   /**
    * Structured violation list for manifests blocked by `planning-discipline`.
diff --git a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/schemas/execution-manifest.ts b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/schemas/execution-manifest.ts
index 0058e3e7..6a33dd63 100644
--- a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/schemas/execution-manifest.ts
+++ b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/schemas/execution-manifest.ts
@@ -283,6 +283,16 @@ export const ExecutionManifestSchema = z
         // 'reviewer-no-session-result' (file-absent skipped-first-call path). Carries
         // the FR45 guidance so the operator knows how to resolve the setup issue.
         "review-could-not-run",
+        // Story native:01KVVJNMHDWZZS366S1BY188CG: the VERDICT step itself could not
+        // produce a readable result — processReviewerTranscript errored (e.g. an
+        // unrecognised recommendedVerdict token / non-JSON reviewer-result file →
+        // ReviewerResultFileMalformedError → MCP isError with no `next`) or its
+        // courier relay garbled (seam _parseError). A green, finished story whose
+        // verdict step cannot produce a result is a re-runnable SETUP problem, NOT a
+        // quality failure — so it is held distinctly from 'verdict-failed' (a quality
+        // problem) and, mirroring 'review-could-not-run' but naming the VERDICT step,
+        // distinctly from a review that could not RUN (AC3).
+        "verdict-could-not-run",
       ])
       .optional(),
 
diff --git a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-concurrent-dispatch.test.ts b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-concurrent-dispatch.test.ts
index 499d3e7f..d3e2d981 100644
--- a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-concurrent-dispatch.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-concurrent-dispatch.test.ts
@@ -185,7 +185,13 @@ async function runRun(opts: {
     if (label.startsWith("verdict:")) {
       const ref = refFromLabel(label, "verdict:");
       const o = outcomes[ref]!;
-      if (o.kind === "verdict-blocked") return { next: "blocked-something" };
+      // A GENUINE reviewer block (recommendedVerdict === BLOCKED). The run
+      // classifies this recognised verdict to the real `reviewer-verdict-blocked`
+      // quality-block reason (native:01KVVJNMHDWZZS366S1BY188CG split the verdict
+      // catch-all). Previously this harness used a stand-in `blocked-something`;
+      // that token is now (correctly) reclassified as a verdict-step setup error,
+      // so we inject the real verdict value the production code recognises.
+      if (o.kind === "verdict-blocked") return { next: "done-blocked-reviewer-blocked" };
       if (o.kind === "needs-changes-then-merge") {
         const round = (verdictRound[ref] ??= 0);
         verdictRound[ref] = round + 1;
@@ -360,7 +366,7 @@ describe("run concurrent dispatch (Story 8.22)", () => {
     // Each blocked entry preserved its reason verbatim.
     const block4 = n.blocked.find((b: any) => b.ref === "s:4");
     const block5 = n.blocked.find((b: any) => b.ref === "s:5");
-    expect(block4.blocked_by).toBe("blocked-something");
+    expect(block4.blocked_by).toBe("reviewer-verdict-blocked");
     expect(block5.blocked_by).toBe("dev-no-handoff");
   });
 
diff --git a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-fault-injection.test.ts b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-fault-injection.test.ts
index 3a847883..ceb132ce 100644
--- a/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-fault-injection.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/flow/mcp-server/src/tools/__tests__/run-fault-injection.test.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,14 @@ interface RunOpts {
   throwSeam?: { ref?: string; prefix: string };
   /** Refs that should drive the needs-human-decision path, → their verbatim question. */
   needsHuman?: Record<string, string>;
+  /**
+   * Override the `verdict:` seam's `next` value PER REF. Lets a case drive a
+   * GENUINE reviewer verdict (e.g. `done-blocked-reviewer-blocked`) through the
+   * real run.workflow.js verdict-classification branch, distinct from a garbled
+   * relay (which yields a _parseError, not a recognised `next`). Refs absent from
+   * the map use the default `done-ready-for-merge`.
+   */
+  verdictNext?: Record<string, string>;
   /**
    * What the `claim:` seam returns once the queue is exhausted. Default
    * `"queue-emptied"` (the happy terminal). Set `"waiting-on-in-progress"` to
@@ -205,7 +213,11 @@ async function runRun(opts: RunOpts = {}): Promise<{
         reviewerPrompt: "REV-PERSONA",
       };
     }
-    if (label.startsWith("verdict:")) return { next: "done-ready-for-merge" };
+    if (label.startsWith("verdict:")) {
+      const ref = refOfLabel(label);
+      const overridden = ref ? (opts.verdictNext ?? {})[ref] : undefined;
+      return { next: overridden ?? "done-ready-for-merge" };
+    }
     if (label.startsWith("gate:")) {
       return { decision: "pause-needs-human", reason: "no-agreement-history" };
     }
@@ -469,6 +481,91 @@ describe("run fault-injection — honest reporting under misbehaving seams (nati
     assertHonestyInvariant(result, thrown, [REF_A, REF_B]);
   });
 
+  // ── native:01KVVJNMHDWZZS366S1BY188CG — verdict-step error vs genuine quality block ──
+  //
+  // A green, FINISHED story whose VERDICT STEP errors or returns an unreadable /
+  // unrecognised result must be surfaced as a re-runnable SETUP problem
+  // (`verdict-could-not-run`), NEVER dumped in the blocked pile as a false
+  // `verdict-failed`. A GENUINE reviewer block (`done-blocked-reviewer-blocked`)
+  // must still be held back as a real quality decision (`reviewer-verdict-blocked`),
+  // exactly as today. These two pin BOTH directions in the real run.workflow.js body.
+
+  it("AC1/AC3: a verdict step that returns an UNREADABLE result on a green story routes to 'verdict-could-not-run' (a re-runnable setup problem) — never 'verdict-failed'", async () => {
+    // The injected garble feeds the verdict seam a non-JSON relay, so seam() yields
+    // a _parseError and the workflow's `v` (verdict.next) is undefined — exactly the
+    // shape processReviewerTranscript produces when readReviewerResultFile throws
+    // ReviewerResultFileMalformedError (an unrecognised recommendedVerdict token or a
+    // non-JSON reviewer-result file) and surfaces as an MCP isError with no `next`.
+    const queue = [
+      { ref: REF_A, title: "Story A (green; verdict step returns unreadable result)" },
+      { ref: REF_B, title: "Story B (clean sibling)" },
+    ];
+    const { result, thrown } = await runRun({
+      queue,
+      maxConcurrency: 2,
+      garble: { ref: REF_A, prefix: "verdict:" },
+    });
+
+    expect(thrown).toBeUndefined();
+
+    // A is surfaced as a re-runnable SETUP problem naming the VERDICT step — NOT the
+    // false-failure 'verdict-failed', and distinct from 'review-could-not-run' (AC3).
+    const a = result.blocked.find((b: any) => b.ref === REF_A);
+    expect(a, "story A should be surfaced as a setup problem").toBeDefined();
+    expect(a.blocked_by).toBe("verdict-could-not-run");
+    expect(a.blocked_by).not.toBe("verdict-failed");
+    expect(a.blocked_by).not.toBe("review-could-not-run");
+    // It never reached the green-verdict completion / merge path.
+    expect(result.completed).not.toContain(REF_A);
+    expect(result.merged.some((m: any) => m.ref === REF_A)).toBe(false);
+
+    // The blockStory give-up move stamped the SAME setup reason on the manifest move
+    // (the block-story seam fires with that label/reason), confirming the manifest is
+    // pulled out of in-progress/ as a setup problem, not silently swallowed.
+    // (A green sibling still finishes normally below.)
+    expect(result.pausedForHuman.some((p: any) => p.ref === REF_A)).toBe(false);
+
+    // The run kept going and finished the OTHER story cleanly.
+    expect(result.completed).toContain(REF_B);
+    expect(result.pausedForHuman.some((p: any) => p.ref === REF_B)).toBe(true);
+
+    expect(result.runReason).toBe("queue-emptied");
+    assertHonestyInvariant(result, thrown, [REF_A, REF_B]);
+  });
+
+  it("AC2: a GENUINE reviewer BLOCK verdict still lands as the real quality decision 'reviewer-verdict-blocked' (setup-problem handling does NOT apply)", async () => {
+    // The verdict seam returns a recognised `done-blocked-reviewer-blocked` — a real
+    // quality verdict the reviewer made (recommendedVerdict === BLOCKED). This must be
+    // held back EXACTLY as today; the new verdict-could-not-run handling applies ONLY
+    // when NO real verdict could be produced.
+    const queue = [
+      { ref: REF_A, title: "Story A (reviewer genuinely BLOCKS)" },
+      { ref: REF_B, title: "Story B (clean sibling)" },
+    ];
+    const { result, thrown } = await runRun({
+      queue,
+      maxConcurrency: 2,
+      verdictNext: { [REF_A]: "done-blocked-reviewer-blocked" },
+    });
+
+    expect(thrown).toBeUndefined();
+
+    // A is held back as a REAL quality block — its existing reason, NOT the new
+    // setup-problem reason.
+    const a = result.blocked.find((b: any) => b.ref === REF_A);
+    expect(a, "story A should be held back as a quality block").toBeDefined();
+    expect(a.blocked_by).toBe("reviewer-verdict-blocked");
+    expect(a.blocked_by).not.toBe("verdict-could-not-run");
+    expect(result.completed).not.toContain(REF_A);
+    expect(result.merged.some((m: any) => m.ref === REF_A)).toBe(false);
+
+    // The sibling still finishes normally.
+    expect(result.completed).toContain(REF_B);
+
+    expect(result.runReason).toBe("queue-emptied");
+    assertHonestyInvariant(result, thrown, [REF_A, REF_B]);
+  });
+
   it("AC2: a garbled GATE relay (after a green verdict) buckets that story in BLOCKED — a story whose merge gate cannot be confirmed never reaches done/, run keeps going", async () => {
     // fix/run-isolation-coordination-honesty: a garbled gate relay means the
     // gate decision (incl. the CI-green check) could NOT be confirmed. Under the
diff --git a/plugins/flow/workflows/internal/run.workflow.js b/plugins/flow/workflows/internal/run.workflow.js
index 0f376ddb..d50f20ed 100644
--- a/plugins/flow/workflows/internal/run.workflow.js
+++ b/plugins/flow/workflows/internal/run.workflow.js
@@ -714,8 +714,26 @@ async function processStory({ ref, title, manifestPath, resumeAtReview = false,
       await blockStoryGiveUp(ref, 'review-could-not-run')
       return
     }
-    blocked.push({ ref, blocked_by: v || verdict?._parseError || 'verdict-failed' })
-    await blockStoryGiveUp(ref, v === 'done-blocked-reviewer-blocked' ? 'reviewer-verdict-blocked' : 'verdict-failed')
+    // A GENUINE quality block from the reviewer (recommendedVerdict === BLOCKED) —
+    // still held back as a real quality decision (AC2, unchanged behaviour).
+    if (v === 'done-blocked-reviewer-blocked') {
+      blocked.push({ ref, blocked_by: 'reviewer-verdict-blocked' })
+      await blockStoryGiveUp(ref, 'reviewer-verdict-blocked')
+      return
+    }
+    // No RECOGNISED verdict reached this point: the verdict STEP itself errored or
+    // returned an unreadable/unrecognised result — e.g. processReviewerTranscript
+    // threw ReviewerResultFileMalformedError (an unrecognised recommendedVerdict
+    // token or non-JSON file) and surfaced as an MCP isError response with no
+    // `next`, or the courier relay garbled and seam() returned a _parseError. That
+    // is a SETUP problem, NOT a quality verdict: a green, finished story must NEVER
+    // be dumped into the blocked pile as 'verdict-failed' for the operator to rescue
+    // by hand (the false-failure this story fixes). Route it to a distinct,
+    // re-runnable setup-error outcome whose reason names the VERDICT step, so it
+    // reads distinctly from 'review-could-not-run' (a review that could not RUN) —
+    // satisfying AC3's requirement to tell the two apart.
+    blocked.push({ ref, blocked_by: 'verdict-could-not-run' })
+    await blockStoryGiveUp(ref, 'verdict-could-not-run')
     return
   }