diff --git a/web/js/combat/enemies.js b/web/js/combat/enemies.js
index e620958..6d34875 100644
--- a/web/js/combat/enemies.js
+++ b/web/js/combat/enemies.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 // Determinism: every random here comes from the seeded rng('enemies') stream.
 
 import * as THREE from 'three';
+import { mergeGeometries } from 'three/addons/utils/BufferGeometryUtils.js';
 import { BALANCE as B } from './balance.js';
 import { emissiveMat, EMISSIVE } from '../flight/emissive.js';
 
@@ -20,6 +21,37 @@ const _dir = new THREE.Vector3(), _v = new THREE.Vector3();
 const FORWARD = new THREE.Vector3(0, 0, 1);
 const BUCKET = 20;                     // u of s per broad-phase bucket
 
+// The bacteriophage silhouette, built from primitives. The phage is the ONE microbe that is
+// geometric, not blobby — an icosahedral capsid on a tail sheath with splayed leg fibres — so
+// image->3D (Trellis/Hunyuan) webs its thin legs into a lump (measured: a 1.27x1.41x0.94 blob),
+// while merged cylinders nail the iconic "lander" at ~140 tris. Authored along +Z (travel dir):
+// legs reach forward, capsid trails.
+const _up = new THREE.Vector3(0, 1, 0);
+function phageGeo(r) {
+  const parts = [];
+  const head = new THREE.IcosahedronGeometry(r * 0.82, 0);
+  head.translate(0, 0, -r * 0.75);
+  parts.push(head);
+  const tail = new THREE.CylinderGeometry(r * 0.22, r * 0.22, r * 0.9, 6);      // BOLD sheath
+  tail.rotateX(Math.PI / 2);                                    // Y-axis -> Z-axis
+  tail.translate(0, 0, -r * 0.1);
+  parts.push(tail);
+  const N = 6;
+  for (let i = 0; i < N; i++) {
+    const a = (i / N) * Math.PI * 2;
+    const leg = new THREE.CylinderGeometry(r * 0.1, r * 0.06, r * 1.0, 4);       // thick, tapered
+    leg.translate(0, r * 0.5, 0);                              // base at origin, extends +Y
+    // splay WIDE (small z) so a head-on phage reads as a 6-point star, not a dot
+    const dir = new THREE.Vector3(Math.cos(a), Math.sin(a), 0.55).normalize();
+    leg.applyQuaternion(new THREE.Quaternion().setFromUnitVectors(_up, dir));
+    leg.translate(0, 0, r * 0.35);                             // shift to the +Z baseplate
+    parts.push(leg);
+  }
+  // Icosahedron is non-indexed, cylinders are indexed — mergeGeometries needs all-or-none, so
+  // drop every index before merging.
+  return mergeGeometries(parts.map((p) => (p.index ? p.toNonIndexed() : p)), false);
+}
+
 // Round-1 roster. `geo` is the procedural fallback; D's model swaps in via assets.get.
 const ARCHETYPES = {
   floater: {
@@ -54,12 +86,12 @@ const ARCHETYPES = {
     color: EMISSIVE.hostile,
   },
   // phage — the ALLY. A friendly seeker that hunts the nearest FOE and rams it (a bacteriophage
-  // bursts its host). Teal, distinct from cyan flora. Budded by high BIOME STANDING. Fallback
-  // silhouette is a bare icosahedron = the phage's real icosahedral capsid (a Hunyuan mesh with
-  // tail fibres is the eventual upgrade).
+  // bursts its host). Teal, distinct from cyan flora. Budded by high BIOME STANDING. Silhouette
+  // is the iconic capsid+tail+legs, built procedurally (phageGeo) — image->3D can't hold the
+  // thin legs, and the shape is geometric anyway.
   phage: {
     cfg: B.enemies.phage,
-    geo: () => new THREE.IcosahedronGeometry(B.enemies.phage.radius, 0),
+    geo: () => phageGeo(B.enemies.phage.radius),
     color: EMISSIVE.ally,
     foe: false,
   },