diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/TransportNodesAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/TransportNodesAction.java
index 065f4ad744a..50e84379059 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/TransportNodesAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/TransportNodesAction.java
@@ -83,6 +83,11 @@ public abstract class TransportNodesAction<NodesRequest extends BaseNodesRequest
         return nodesIds;
     }
 
+    protected String[] resolveNodes(NodesRequest request, ClusterState clusterState) {
+        return clusterState.nodes().resolveNodesIds(request.nodesIds());
+    }
+
+
     private class AsyncAction {
 
         private final NodesRequest request;
@@ -96,7 +101,7 @@ public abstract class TransportNodesAction<NodesRequest extends BaseNodesRequest
             this.request = request;
             this.listener = listener;
             clusterState = clusterService.state();
-            String[] nodesIds = clusterState.nodes().resolveNodesIds(request.nodesIds());
+            String[] nodesIds = resolveNodes(request, clusterState);
             this.nodesIds = filterNodeIds(clusterState.nodes(), nodesIds);
             this.responses = new AtomicReferenceArray<>(this.nodesIds.length);
         }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/AsyncShardFetch.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/AsyncShardFetch.java
index 4573e2dac12..d937fa614e0 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/AsyncShardFetch.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/AsyncShardFetch.java
@@ -165,19 +165,29 @@ public abstract class AsyncShardFetch<T extends BaseNodeResponse> implements Rel
     protected synchronized void processAsyncFetch(ShardId shardId, T[] responses, FailedNodeException[] failures) {
         if (closed) {
             // we are closed, no need to process this async fetch at all
+            logger.trace("{} ignoring fetched [{}] results, already closed", shardId, type);
             return;
         }
+        logger.trace("{} processing fetched [{}] results", shardId, type);
+
         if (responses != null) {
             for (T response : responses) {
                 NodeEntry<T> nodeEntry = cache.get(response.getNode().getId());
                 // if the entry is there, and not marked as failed already, process it
-                if (nodeEntry != null && nodeEntry.isFailed() == false) {
+                if (nodeEntry == null) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                if (nodeEntry.isFailed()) {
+                    logger.trace("{} node {} has failed for [{}] (failure [{}])", shardId, nodeEntry.getNodeId(), type, nodeEntry.getFailure());
+                } else {
+                    logger.trace("{} marking {} as done for [{}]", shardId, nodeEntry.getNodeId(), type);
                     nodeEntry.doneFetching(response);
                 }
             }
         }
         if (failures != null) {
             for (FailedNodeException failure : failures) {
+                logger.trace("{} processing failure {} for [{}]", shardId, failure, type);
                 NodeEntry<T> nodeEntry = cache.get(failure.nodeId());
                 // if the entry is there, and not marked as failed already, process it
                 if (nodeEntry != null && nodeEntry.isFailed() == false) {
@@ -253,6 +263,7 @@ public abstract class AsyncShardFetch<T extends BaseNodeResponse> implements Rel
     // visible for testing
     void asyncFetch(final ShardId shardId, final String[] nodesIds, final MetaData metaData) {
         IndexMetaData indexMetaData = metaData.index(shardId.getIndex());
+        logger.trace("{} fetching [{}] from {}", shardId, type, nodesIds);
         action.list(shardId, indexMetaData, nodesIds, new ActionListener<BaseNodesResponse<T>>() {
             @Override
             public void onResponse(BaseNodesResponse<T> response) {
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/TransportNodesListGatewayStartedShards.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/TransportNodesListGatewayStartedShards.java
index d5692b3a5aa..8d9a7960f6e 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/TransportNodesListGatewayStartedShards.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gateway/TransportNodesListGatewayStartedShards.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.support.ActionFilters;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.nodes.*;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterName;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterService;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterState;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNode;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.inject.Inject;
@@ -68,6 +69,13 @@ public class TransportNodesListGatewayStartedShards extends TransportNodesAction
         execute(new Request(shardId, indexMetaData.getUUID(), nodesIds), listener);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected String[] resolveNodes(Request request, ClusterState clusterState) {
+        // default implementation may filter out non existent nodes. it's important to keep exactly the ids
+        // we were given for accounting on the caller
+        return request.nodesIds();
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected boolean transportCompress() {
         return true; // this can become big...
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/store/TransportNodesListShardStoreMetaData.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/store/TransportNodesListShardStoreMetaData.java
index c574594040e..f73576fef79 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/store/TransportNodesListShardStoreMetaData.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/store/TransportNodesListShardStoreMetaData.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.support.ActionFilters;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.nodes.*;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterName;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterService;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterState;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNode;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.inject.Inject;
@@ -81,6 +82,13 @@ public class TransportNodesListShardStoreMetaData extends TransportNodesAction<T
         execute(new Request(shardId, false, nodesIds), listener);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected String[] resolveNodes(Request request, ClusterState clusterState) {
+        // default implementation may filter out non existent nodes. it's important to keep exactly the ids
+        // we were given for accounting on the caller
+        return request.nodesIds();
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected NodeRequest newNodeRequest(String nodeId, Request request) {
         return new NodeRequest(nodeId, request);
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/MinimumMasterNodesTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/MinimumMasterNodesTests.java
index 68d682ddf7b..ea4c0eb5dee 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/MinimumMasterNodesTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/MinimumMasterNodesTests.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.discovery.zen.elect.ElectMasterService;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.QueryBuilders;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ElasticsearchIntegrationTest;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ElasticsearchIntegrationTest.ClusterScope;
+import org.elasticsearch.test.junit.annotations.TestLogging;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.*;
 public class MinimumMasterNodesTests extends ElasticsearchIntegrationTest {
 
     @Test
+    @TestLogging("cluster.service:TRACE,discovery.zen:TRACE,gateway:TRACE,transport.tracer:TRACE")
     public void simpleMinimumMasterNodes() throws Exception {
 
         Settings settings = settingsBuilder()
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/RareClusterStateTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/RareClusterStateTests.java
index 956c9d6561a..2792c77870a 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/RareClusterStateTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/state/RareClusterStateTests.java
@@ -20,24 +20,27 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.indices.state;
 
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
-
+import org.elasticsearch.Version;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionListener;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.mapping.put.PutMappingResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.index.IndexResponse;
-import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterInfo;
-import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterState;
-import org.elasticsearch.cluster.DiskUsage;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.*;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.block.ClusterBlocks;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.MappingMetaData;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.MetaData;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNode;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNodes;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.routing.RoutingNodes;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.routing.RoutingTable;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.routing.ShardRouting;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.routing.allocation.AllocationService;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.routing.allocation.RoutingAllocation;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.routing.allocation.decider.AllocationDecider;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.routing.allocation.decider.AllocationDeciders;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.collect.ImmutableOpenMap;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.transport.DummyTransportAddress;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.TimeValue;
 import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoveryModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.discovery.DiscoverySettings;
@@ -52,19 +55,12 @@ import org.elasticsearch.test.junit.annotations.TestLogging;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.Arrays;
-import java.util.HashSet;
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.*;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 
 import static org.elasticsearch.test.hamcrest.ElasticsearchAssertions.assertAcked;
 import static org.elasticsearch.test.hamcrest.ElasticsearchAssertions.assertHitCount;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.hasItem;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.hasSize;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.instanceOf;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.*;
 
 /**
  */
@@ -102,6 +98,72 @@ public class RareClusterStateTests extends ElasticsearchIntegrationTest {
         allocator.allocateUnassigned(routingAllocation);
     }
 
+    @Test
+    @TestLogging("gateway:TRACE")
+    public void testAssignmentWithJustAddedNodes() throws Exception {
+        internalCluster().startNode();
+        final String index = "index";
+        prepareCreate(index).setSettings(IndexMetaData.SETTING_NUMBER_OF_SHARDS, 1, IndexMetaData.SETTING_NUMBER_OF_REPLICAS, 0).get();
+        ensureGreen(index);
+
+        // close to have some unassigned started shards shards..
+        client().admin().indices().prepareClose(index).get();
+
+
+        final String masterName = internalCluster().getMasterName();
+        final ClusterService clusterService = internalCluster().clusterService(masterName);
+        final AllocationService allocationService = internalCluster().getInstance(AllocationService.class, masterName);
+        clusterService.submitStateUpdateTask("test-inject-node-and-reroute", new ClusterStateUpdateTask() {
+            @Override
+            public ClusterState execute(ClusterState currentState) throws Exception {
+                // inject a node
+                ClusterState.Builder builder = ClusterState.builder(currentState);
+                builder.nodes(DiscoveryNodes.builder(currentState.nodes()).put(new DiscoveryNode("_non_existent", DummyTransportAddress.INSTANCE, Version.CURRENT)));
+
+                // open index
+                final IndexMetaData indexMetaData = IndexMetaData.builder(currentState.metaData().index(index)).state(IndexMetaData.State.OPEN).build();
+
+                builder.metaData(MetaData.builder(currentState.metaData()).put(indexMetaData, true));
+                builder.blocks(ClusterBlocks.builder().blocks(currentState.blocks()).removeIndexBlocks(index));
+                ClusterState updatedState = builder.build();
+
+                RoutingTable.Builder routingTable = RoutingTable.builder(updatedState.routingTable());
+                routingTable.addAsRecovery(updatedState.metaData().index(index));
+                updatedState = ClusterState.builder(updatedState).routingTable(routingTable).build();
+
+                RoutingAllocation.Result result = allocationService.reroute(updatedState);
+                return ClusterState.builder(updatedState).routingResult(result).build();
+
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void onFailure(String source, Throwable t) {
+
+            }
+        });
+        ensureGreen(index);
+        // remove the extra node
+        clusterService.submitStateUpdateTask("test-remove-injected-node", new ClusterStateUpdateTask() {
+            @Override
+            public ClusterState execute(ClusterState currentState) throws Exception {
+                // inject a node
+                ClusterState.Builder builder = ClusterState.builder(currentState);
+                builder.nodes(DiscoveryNodes.builder(currentState.nodes()).remove("_non_existent"));
+
+                currentState = builder.build();
+                RoutingAllocation.Result result = allocationService.reroute(currentState);
+                return ClusterState.builder(currentState).routingResult(result).build();
+
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void onFailure(String source, Throwable t) {
+
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
+
     @Test
     @TestLogging(value = "cluster.service:TRACE")
     public void testDeleteCreateInOneBulk() throws Exception {
@@ -190,6 +252,7 @@ public class RareClusterStateTests extends ElasticsearchIntegrationTest {
             public void onResponse(PutMappingResponse response) {
                 putMappingResponse.set(response);
             }
+
             @Override
             public void onFailure(Throwable e) {
                 putMappingResponse.set(e);
@@ -221,6 +284,7 @@ public class RareClusterStateTests extends ElasticsearchIntegrationTest {
             public void onResponse(IndexResponse response) {
                 docIndexResponse.set(response);
             }
+
             @Override
             public void onFailure(Throwable e) {
                 docIndexResponse.set(e);
@@ -304,6 +368,7 @@ public class RareClusterStateTests extends ElasticsearchIntegrationTest {
             public void onResponse(PutMappingResponse response) {
                 putMappingResponse.set(response);
             }
+
             @Override
             public void onFailure(Throwable e) {
                 putMappingResponse.set(e);
@@ -329,6 +394,7 @@ public class RareClusterStateTests extends ElasticsearchIntegrationTest {
             public void onResponse(IndexResponse response) {
                 docIndexResponse.set(response);
             }
+
             @Override
             public void onFailure(Throwable e) {
                 docIndexResponse.set(e);