diff --git a/Game/ArenaPool.swift b/Game/ArenaPool.swift
index fd6c8ea..c6561d7 100644
--- a/Game/ArenaPool.swift
+++ b/Game/ArenaPool.swift
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ import Foundation
 // Each arena ships:
 //   • a 12×7 authored tile layout with ONE exit door and an authored squad
 //   • its own background art slot: "Sprites/backgrounds/<arenaId>.png"
-//     (e.g. arena_01.png). Until that art lands, a placeholder mapping to an
-//     existing story background keeps rooms fully dressed.
+//     (e.g. arena_01.png). Arenas render only their own art — they never
+//     fall back to a story-mission room background.
 //
 // Generation rules:
 //   • Gauntlet floor = 2–3 random arenas CHAINED by their exit doors; the
@@ -35,32 +35,6 @@ enum ArenaPool {
         let rooms: [DoorEntry]
     }
 
-    /// Placeholder background art per arena until the dedicated
-    /// "<arenaId>.png" files are generated — mapped to tonally-close story
-    /// rooms so pool rooms are never artless.
-    static let placeholderBackgrounds: [String: String] = [
-        "arena_01": "Mission002_room_0.png",   // freight bay → corp interior
-        "arena_02": "Mission001_room_0.png",   // neon court → street mission
-        "arena_03": "Mission004_room_1.png",   // server vault → corp tech
-        "arena_04": "Mission005_room_1.png",   // chem works → industrial
-        "arena_05": "Mission001_room_1.png",   // transit platform
-        "arena_06": "Mission002_room_1.png",   // night market
-        "arena_07": "Mission005_room_2.png",   // foundry → mech bay
-        "arena_08": "Mission004_room_0.png",   // casino mezzanine
-        "arena_09": "Mission003_room_0.png",   // rooftop greenhouse → ritual
-        "arena_10": "Mission005_room_0.png",   // flooded substation
-        "arena_11": "Mission005_room_1.png",   // chop shop → industrial
-        "arena_12": "Mission004_room_1.png",   // cryo vault → corp tech
-        "arena_13": "Mission003_room_1.png",   // neon temple → ritual
-        "arena_14": "Mission004_room_0.png",   // broadcast studio
-        "arena_15": "Mission001_room_0.png",   // arcade ruins → street
-        "arena_16": "Mission004_room_2.png",   // penthouse suite
-        "arena_17": "Mission005_room_0.png",   // sewer junction
-        "arena_18": "Mission005_room_2.png",   // drydock → mech bay
-        "arena_19": "Mission002_room_2.png",   // data haven
-        "arena_20": "Mission002_room_0.png",   // skybridge atrium
-    ]
-
     private static var cache: [Entry]?
 
     /// Load the arena pool from the bundle (dev fallback: repo path).
diff --git a/Rendering/BattleScene.swift b/Rendering/BattleScene.swift
index 9df984e..593d512 100644
--- a/Rendering/BattleScene.swift
+++ b/Rendering/BattleScene.swift
@@ -2502,13 +2502,10 @@ final class BattleScene: SKScene {
             names.append("\(missionId)_\(room.id).png")
         }
         // Arena-pool rooms (gauntlet floors / contracts) carry their own art
-        // slot by ROOM id ("arena_01.png"), with a story-room placeholder
-        // until that art is generated.
+        // slot by ROOM id ("arena_01.png"). No story-room fallback: arenas
+        // must never borrow a mission-room background.
         if let room = RoomManager.shared.currentRoom {
             names.append("\(room.id).png")
-            if let placeholder = ArenaPool.placeholderBackgrounds[room.id] {
-                names.append(placeholder)
-            }
         }
         if !missionId.isEmpty {
             names.append("\(missionId).png")