diff --git a/frontend/src/composables/useAuth.ts b/frontend/src/composables/useAuth.ts
index efd06c0..8b2162e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/composables/useAuth.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/composables/useAuth.ts
@@ -307,8 +307,9 @@ export function useAuth() {
       // First, let the store validate/refresh tokens
       await authStore.init()
 
-      // If we have tokens but no user data, fetch the profile
-      if (authStore.isAuthenticated && !authStore.user) {
+      // If we have tokens, fetch user profile to get hasStarterDeck status
+      // This must be done here, not in the router guard, to avoid race conditions
+      if (authStore.isAuthenticated) {
         try {
           const profileResponse = await apiClient.get<UserProfileResponse>('/api/users/me')
           const user = transformUserProfile(profileResponse)
diff --git a/frontend/src/router/guards.ts b/frontend/src/router/guards.ts
index 5463e8b..bb2397c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/router/guards.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/router/guards.ts
@@ -183,7 +183,11 @@ export async function checkStarter(
   // Check if user data is available with hasStarterDeck flag
   if (auth.user) {
     if (!auth.user.hasStarterDeck) {
-      return { path: '/starter' }
+      // Local state says no starter - verify with API to handle stale data
+      const hasStarter = await fetchStarterStatus(auth.user.id)
+      if (!hasStarter) {
+        return { path: '/starter' }
+      }
     }
     return undefined
   }
diff --git a/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts b/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts
index de35e26..eb4d380 100644
--- a/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/stores/auth.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ export const useAuthStore = defineStore('auth', () => {
    */
   function setUser(userData: User): void {
     user.value = userData
+    // Clear cached starter status since we just fetched fresh user data
+    clearStarterStatusCache()
   }
 
   /**