Group constructions cannot refute the Set Cover Conjecture, including tensor powers
For k≥2 and m≥1, a Strassen combinatorial degeneration of a finite group tensor onto the mth tensor power of the balanced tripartitioning tensor T_k requires |G|≥binom(3k,⌊3k/2⌋)^m>τ_k^m, where τ_k=8^k binom(3k,k)binom(2k,k)/27^k. For single-copy group restrictions, |G|≥2^{3k−1}; the partition products factor through commuting elements even when G is nonabelian.