diff --git a/planets/BlackHoleVisual.gd b/planets/BlackHoleVisual.gd
index ab0cb0e..ea664ac 100644
--- a/planets/BlackHoleVisual.gd
+++ b/planets/BlackHoleVisual.gd
@@ -26,7 +26,12 @@ var _rings: Array = []
 
 
 func _ready() -> void:
-	_build()
+	# Planet.gd calls configure() BEFORE add_child(), so the disc is usually
+	# already built by the time _ready fires (which the SceneTree defers to
+	# the first frame). Without this guard the ring set was thrown away and
+	# re-tessellated - eighty antialiased polylines per spawn instead of forty.
+	if _rings.is_empty():
+		_build()
 
 
 func configure(_shape_seed: int) -> void: