diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/DefaultPathBuilderFactory.scala b/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/DefaultPathBuilderFactory.scala
index 91f05b10ef7..20a2afdd5ce 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/DefaultPathBuilderFactory.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/DefaultPathBuilderFactory.scala
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package cromwell.core.path
 
 import akka.actor.ActorSystem
 import cromwell.core.WorkflowOptions
+import cromwell.core.path.PathBuilderFactory.PriorityDefault
 
 import scala.concurrent.{ExecutionContext, Future}
 
@@ -9,4 +10,6 @@ case object DefaultPathBuilderFactory extends PathBuilderFactory {
   override def withOptions(options: WorkflowOptions)(implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem, ec: ExecutionContext) = Future.successful(DefaultPathBuilder)
   val name = "local"
   val tuple = name -> this
+
+  override def priority: Int = PriorityDefault
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/PathBuilderFactory.scala b/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/PathBuilderFactory.scala
index 1f215ba2933..79adaae4d6b 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/PathBuilderFactory.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/cromwell/core/path/PathBuilderFactory.scala
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import cromwell.core.{Dispatcher, WorkflowOptions}
 import cats.syntax.traverse._
 import cats.instances.list._
 import cats.instances.future._
+import cromwell.core.path.PathBuilderFactory.PriorityStandard
 
 import scala.concurrent.{ExecutionContext, Future}
 
@@ -12,16 +13,13 @@ object PathBuilderFactory {
   // Given a list of factories, instantiates the corresponding path builders
   def instantiatePathBuilders(factories: List[PathBuilderFactory], workflowOptions: WorkflowOptions)(implicit as: ActorSystem): Future[List[PathBuilder]] = {
     implicit val ec: ExecutionContext = as.dispatchers.lookup(Dispatcher.IoDispatcher)
-    // The DefaultPathBuilderFactory always needs to be last.
-    // The reason is path builders are tried in order, and the default one is very generous in terms of paths it "thinks" it supports
-    // For instance, it will return a Path for a gcs url even though it doesn't really support it
-    val sortedFactories = factories.sortWith({
-      case (_, DefaultPathBuilderFactory) => true
-      case (DefaultPathBuilderFactory, _) => false
-      case (a, b) => factories.indexOf(a) < factories.indexOf(b)
-    })
+    val sortedFactories = factories.sortBy(_.priority)
     sortedFactories.traverse(_.withOptions(workflowOptions))
   }
+
+  val PriorityBlob     = 100   // High priority to evaluate first, because blob files may inadvertently match other filesystems
+  val PriorityStandard = 1000
+  val PriorityDefault  = 10000 // "Default" is a fallback, evaluate last
 }
 
 /**
@@ -29,4 +27,11 @@ object PathBuilderFactory {
   */
 trait PathBuilderFactory {
   def withOptions(options: WorkflowOptions)(implicit as: ActorSystem, ec: ExecutionContext): Future[PathBuilder]
+
+  /**
+    * Candidate filesystems are considered in a stable order, as some requests may match multiple filesystems.
+    * To customize this order, the priority of a filesystem may be adjusted. Lower number == higher priority.
+    * @return This filesystem's priority
+    */
+  def priority: Int = PriorityStandard
 }
diff --git a/engine/src/main/scala/cromwell/engine/EngineFilesystems.scala b/engine/src/main/scala/cromwell/engine/EngineFilesystems.scala
index 296d227d39f..c648261a7f4 100644
--- a/engine/src/main/scala/cromwell/engine/EngineFilesystems.scala
+++ b/engine/src/main/scala/cromwell/engine/EngineFilesystems.scala
@@ -8,19 +8,23 @@ import cromwell.core.filesystem.CromwellFileSystems
 import cromwell.core.path.{DefaultPathBuilderFactory, PathBuilder, PathBuilderFactory}
 import net.ceedubs.ficus.Ficus._
 
+import scala.collection.immutable.SortedMap
 import scala.concurrent.Future
 
 object EngineFilesystems {
   private val config: Config = ConfigFactory.load
 
-  private val defaultFileSystemFactory: Map[String, PathBuilderFactory] =
+  private val defaultFileSystemFactory: SortedMap[String, PathBuilderFactory] =
     Option(DefaultPathBuilderFactory.tuple)
       .filter(_ => config.as[Boolean]("engine.filesystems.local.enabled"))
-      .toMap
+      .to(collection.immutable.SortedMap)
 
-  private val pathBuilderFactories: Map[String, PathBuilderFactory] = {
-    CromwellFileSystems.instance.factoriesFromConfig(config.as[Config]("engine"))
-      .unsafe("Failed to instantiate engine filesystem") ++ defaultFileSystemFactory
+  private val pathBuilderFactories: SortedMap[String, PathBuilderFactory] = {
+    // Unordered maps are a classical source of randomness injection into a system
+    (
+      CromwellFileSystems.instance.factoriesFromConfig(config.as[Config]("engine"))
+        .unsafe("Failed to instantiate engine filesystem") ++ defaultFileSystemFactory
+    ).to(collection.immutable.SortedMap)
   }
 
   def configuredPathBuilderFactories: List[PathBuilderFactory] = pathBuilderFactories.values.toList
diff --git a/filesystems/blob/src/main/scala/cromwell/filesystems/blob/BlobPathBuilderFactory.scala b/filesystems/blob/src/main/scala/cromwell/filesystems/blob/BlobPathBuilderFactory.scala
index e6d269a07b0..1a9df21b0f2 100644
--- a/filesystems/blob/src/main/scala/cromwell/filesystems/blob/BlobPathBuilderFactory.scala
+++ b/filesystems/blob/src/main/scala/cromwell/filesystems/blob/BlobPathBuilderFactory.scala
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import akka.actor.ActorSystem
 import com.typesafe.config.Config
 import cromwell.core.WorkflowOptions
 import cromwell.core.path.PathBuilderFactory
+import cromwell.core.path.PathBuilderFactory.PriorityBlob
 import net.ceedubs.ficus.Ficus._
 
 import scala.concurrent.{ExecutionContext, Future}
@@ -33,4 +34,6 @@ final case class BlobPathBuilderFactory(globalConfig: Config, instanceConfig: Co
       new BlobPathBuilder(container, endpoint)(fsm)
     }
   }
+
+  override def priority: Int = PriorityBlob
 }