diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 51c4091c..3eeb6b0f 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ S3method(ungroup,grouped_epi_archive2)
 S3method(unnest,epi_df)
 export("%>%")
 export(archive_cases_dv_subset)
+export(archive_cases_dv_subset_2)
 export(arrange)
 export(as_epi_archive)
 export(as_epi_archive2)
diff --git a/R/archive_new.R b/R/archive_new.R
index bcfa84c3..0b4f3695 100644
--- a/R/archive_new.R
+++ b/R/archive_new.R
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ next_after.Date <- function(x) x + 1L
 #'   value = rnorm(10, mean = 2, sd = 1)
 #' )
 #'
-#' toy_epi_archive <- tib %>% epi_archive$new(
+#' toy_epi_archive <- tib %>% new_epi_archive2(
 #'   geo_type = "state",
 #'   time_type = "day"
 #' )
@@ -743,16 +743,16 @@ merge_epi_archive2 <- function(
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'
-#' grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset %>% group_by(geo_value)
+#' grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>% group_by(geo_value)
 #'
 #' # `print` for metadata and method listing:
 #' grouped_archive %>% print()
 #'
 #' # The primary use for grouping is to perform a grouped `epix_slide`:
 #'
-#' archive_cases_dv_subset %>%
+#' archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>%
 #'   group_by(geo_value) %>%
-#'   epix_slide(
+#'   epix_slide2(
 #'     f = ~ mean(.x$case_rate_7d_av),
 #'     before = 2,
 #'     ref_time_values = as.Date("2020-06-11") + 0:2,
@@ -778,7 +778,7 @@ merge_epi_archive2 <- function(
 #'     time_value = as.Date(time_value),
 #'     version = as.Date(version)
 #'   ) %>%
-#'   as_epi_archive(other_keys = "age_group")
+#'   as_epi_archive2(other_keys = "age_group")
 #'
 #' # The following are equivalent:
 #' toy_archive %>% group_by(geo_value, age_group)
@@ -801,7 +801,7 @@ merge_epi_archive2 <- function(
 #'
 #' toy_archive %>%
 #'   group_by(geo_value, age_group, .drop = FALSE) %>%
-#'   epix_slide(f = ~ sum(.x$value), before = 20) %>%
+#'   epix_slide2(f = ~ sum(.x$value), before = 20) %>%
 #'   ungroup()
 #'
 #' @importFrom dplyr group_by
@@ -1030,7 +1030,7 @@ slide.epi_archive2 <- function(epi_archive, f, ..., before, ref_time_values,
 #'   value = rnorm(10, mean = 2, sd = 1)
 #' )
 #'
-#' toy_epi_archive <- tib %>% as_epi_archive(
+#' toy_epi_archive <- tib %>% as_epi_archive2(
 #'   geo_type = "state",
 #'   time_type = "day"
 #' )
@@ -1056,7 +1056,7 @@ slide.epi_archive2 <- function(epi_archive, f, ..., before, ref_time_values,
 #'   cases_rate = c(0.01, 0.02, 0.01, 0.05)
 #' )
 #'
-#' x <- df %>% as_epi_archive(
+#' x <- df %>% as_epi_archive2(
 #'   geo_type = "state",
 #'   time_type = "day",
 #'   other_keys = "county"
@@ -1081,15 +1081,15 @@ as_epi_archive2 <- function(x, geo_type, time_type, other_keys,
 #'
 #' @export
 #' @examples
-#' is_epi_archive(jhu_csse_daily_subset) # FALSE (this is an epi_df, not epi_archive)
-#' is_epi_archive(archive_cases_dv_subset) # TRUE
+#' is_epi_archive2(jhu_csse_daily_subset) # FALSE (this is an epi_df, not epi_archive)
+#' is_epi_archive2(archive_cases_dv_subset_2) # TRUE
 #'
 #' # By default, grouped_epi_archives don't count as epi_archives, as they may
 #' # support a different set of operations from regular `epi_archives`. This
 #' # behavior can be controlled by `grouped_okay`.
-#' grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset$group_by(geo_value)
-#' is_epi_archive(grouped_archive) # FALSE
-#' is_epi_archive(grouped_archive, grouped_okay = TRUE) # TRUE
+#' grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>% group_by(geo_value)
+#' is_epi_archive2(grouped_archive) # FALSE
+#' is_epi_archive2(grouped_archive, grouped_okay = TRUE) # TRUE
 #'
 #' @seealso [`is_grouped_epi_archive`]
 is_epi_archive2 <- function(x, grouped_okay = FALSE) {
diff --git a/R/data.R b/R/data.R
index 26b9f39f..37ccc522 100644
--- a/R/data.R
+++ b/R/data.R
@@ -289,3 +289,11 @@ delayed_assign_with_unregister_awareness(
 #' * Furthermore, the data has been limited to a very small number of rows, the
 #'   signal names slightly altered, and formatted into a tibble.
 "jhu_csse_county_level_subset"
+
+#' @export
+"archive_cases_dv_subset_2"
+
+delayed_assign_with_unregister_awareness(
+  "archive_cases_dv_subset_2",
+  as_epi_archive2(archive_cases_dv_subset_dt, compactify = FALSE)
+)
diff --git a/R/methods-epi_archive_new.R b/R/methods-epi_archive_new.R
index 2bbdcd46..3ce39afc 100644
--- a/R/methods-epi_archive_new.R
+++ b/R/methods-epi_archive_new.R
@@ -41,17 +41,15 @@
 #'
 #' @examples
 #' # warning message of data latency shown
-#' epix_as_of(
-#'   x = archive_cases_dv_subset,
-#'   max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset$DT$version)
+#' epix_as_of2(
+#'   archive_cases_dv_subset_2,
+#'   max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT$version)
 #' )
 #'
-#' @examples
-#'
-#' range(archive_cases_dv_subset$DT$version) # 2020-06-02 -- 2021-12-01
+#' range(archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT$version) # 2020-06-02 -- 2021-12-01
 #'
-#' epix_as_of(
-#'   x = archive_cases_dv_subset,
+#' epix_as_of2(
+#'   archive_cases_dv_subset_2,
 #'   max_version = as.Date("2020-06-12")
 #' )
 #'
@@ -65,9 +63,9 @@
 #' # muffle such warnings with the following pattern:
 #' withCallingHandlers(
 #'   {
-#'     epix_as_of(
-#'       x = archive_cases_dv_subset,
-#'       max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset$DT$version)
+#'     epix_as_of2(
+#'       archive_cases_dv_subset_2,
+#'       max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT$version)
 #'     )
 #'   },
 #'   epiprocess__snapshot_as_of_clobberable_version = function(wrn) invokeRestart("muffleWarning")
@@ -164,16 +162,14 @@ epix_fill_through_version2 <- function(epi_archive, fill_versions_end,
 #'
 #' @examples
 #' # create two example epi_archive datasets
-#' x <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT %>%
+#' x <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT %>%
 #'   dplyr::select(geo_value, time_value, version, case_rate_7d_av) %>%
-#'   as_epi_archive(compactify = TRUE)
-#' y <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT %>%
+#'   as_epi_archive2(compactify = TRUE)
+#' y <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT %>%
 #'   dplyr::select(geo_value, time_value, version, percent_cli) %>%
-#'   as_epi_archive(compactify = TRUE)
+#'   as_epi_archive2(compactify = TRUE)
 #' # merge results stored in a third object:
-#' xy <- epix_merge(x, y)
-#' # vs. mutating x to hold the merge result:
-#' x$merge(y)
+#' xy <- epix_merge2(x, y)
 #'
 #' @importFrom data.table key set setkeyv
 #' @export
@@ -703,9 +699,9 @@ epix_detailed_restricted_mutate2 <- function(.data, ...) {
 #'
 #' # A simple (but not very useful) example (see the archive vignette for a more
 #' # realistic one):
-#' archive_cases_dv_subset %>%
+#' archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>%
 #'   group_by(geo_value) %>%
-#'   epix_slide(
+#'   epix_slide2(
 #'     f = ~ mean(.x$case_rate_7d_av),
 #'     before = 2,
 #'     ref_time_values = ref_time_values,
@@ -727,9 +723,9 @@ epix_detailed_restricted_mutate2 <- function(.data, ...) {
 #'
 #' # Examining characteristics of the data passed to each computation with
 #' # `all_versions=FALSE`.
-#' archive_cases_dv_subset %>%
+#' archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>%
 #'   group_by(geo_value) %>%
-#'   epix_slide(
+#'   epix_slide2(
 #'     function(x, gk, rtv) {
 #'       tibble(
 #'         time_range = if (nrow(x) == 0L) {
@@ -756,9 +752,9 @@ epix_detailed_restricted_mutate2 <- function(.data, ...) {
 #' # to each computation. In this case, each computation should expect an
 #' # `epi_archive` containing the relevant version data:
 #'
-#' archive_cases_dv_subset %>%
+#' archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>%
 #'   group_by(geo_value) %>%
-#'   epix_slide(
+#'   epix_slide2(
 #'     function(x, gk, rtv) {
 #'       tibble(
 #'         versions_start = if (nrow(x$DT) == 0L) {
diff --git a/R/sysdata.rda b/R/sysdata.rda
index d100711d..a2c5abfd 100644
Binary files a/R/sysdata.rda and b/R/sysdata.rda differ
diff --git a/man/as_epi_archive2.Rd b/man/as_epi_archive2.Rd
index 090b455a..bc3f5185 100644
--- a/man/as_epi_archive2.Rd
+++ b/man/as_epi_archive2.Rd
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ tib <- tibble::tibble(
   value = rnorm(10, mean = 2, sd = 1)
 )
 
-toy_epi_archive <- tib \%>\% as_epi_archive(
+toy_epi_archive <- tib \%>\% as_epi_archive2(
   geo_type = "state",
   time_type = "day"
 )
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ df <- data.frame(
   cases_rate = c(0.01, 0.02, 0.01, 0.05)
 )
 
-x <- df \%>\% as_epi_archive(
+x <- df \%>\% as_epi_archive2(
   geo_type = "state",
   time_type = "day",
   other_keys = "county"
diff --git a/man/epi_archive.Rd b/man/epi_archive.Rd
index efe5d5ba..86e21b89 100644
--- a/man/epi_archive.Rd
+++ b/man/epi_archive.Rd
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ tib <- tibble::tibble(
   value = rnorm(10, mean = 2, sd = 1)
 )
 
-toy_epi_archive <- tib \%>\% epi_archive$new(
+toy_epi_archive <- tib \%>\% new_epi_archive2(
   geo_type = "state",
   time_type = "day"
 )
diff --git a/man/epix_as_of2.Rd b/man/epix_as_of2.Rd
index 4bfe32f4..ac69e9a9 100644
--- a/man/epix_as_of2.Rd
+++ b/man/epix_as_of2.Rd
@@ -60,16 +60,15 @@ in the future.
 }
 \examples{
 # warning message of data latency shown
-epix_as_of(
-  x = archive_cases_dv_subset,
-  max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset$DT$version)
+epix_as_of2(
+  archive_cases_dv_subset_2,
+  max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT$version)
 )
 
+range(archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT$version) # 2020-06-02 -- 2021-12-01
 
-range(archive_cases_dv_subset$DT$version) # 2020-06-02 -- 2021-12-01
-
-epix_as_of(
-  x = archive_cases_dv_subset,
+epix_as_of2(
+  archive_cases_dv_subset_2,
   max_version = as.Date("2020-06-12")
 )
 
@@ -83,9 +82,9 @@ epix_as_of(
 # muffle such warnings with the following pattern:
 withCallingHandlers(
   {
-    epix_as_of(
-      x = archive_cases_dv_subset,
-      max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset$DT$version)
+    epix_as_of2(
+      archive_cases_dv_subset_2,
+      max_version = max(archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT$version)
     )
   },
   epiprocess__snapshot_as_of_clobberable_version = function(wrn) invokeRestart("muffleWarning")
diff --git a/man/epix_merge2.Rd b/man/epix_merge2.Rd
index a42e53e4..11d0aff5 100644
--- a/man/epix_merge2.Rd
+++ b/man/epix_merge2.Rd
@@ -59,15 +59,13 @@ be clobbered in either input archive.
 }
 \examples{
 # create two example epi_archive datasets
-x <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT \%>\%
+x <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT \%>\%
   dplyr::select(geo_value, time_value, version, case_rate_7d_av) \%>\%
-  as_epi_archive(compactify = TRUE)
-y <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT \%>\%
+  as_epi_archive2(compactify = TRUE)
+y <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT \%>\%
   dplyr::select(geo_value, time_value, version, percent_cli) \%>\%
-  as_epi_archive(compactify = TRUE)
+  as_epi_archive2(compactify = TRUE)
 # merge results stored in a third object:
-xy <- epix_merge(x, y)
-# vs. mutating x to hold the merge result:
-x$merge(y)
+xy <- epix_merge2(x, y)
 
 }
diff --git a/man/epix_slide2.Rd b/man/epix_slide2.Rd
index 71d3a11c..8d822bc0 100644
--- a/man/epix_slide2.Rd
+++ b/man/epix_slide2.Rd
@@ -199,9 +199,9 @@ ref_time_values <- seq(as.Date("2020-06-01"),
 
 # A simple (but not very useful) example (see the archive vignette for a more
 # realistic one):
-archive_cases_dv_subset \%>\%
+archive_cases_dv_subset_2 \%>\%
   group_by(geo_value) \%>\%
-  epix_slide(
+  epix_slide2(
     f = ~ mean(.x$case_rate_7d_av),
     before = 2,
     ref_time_values = ref_time_values,
@@ -223,9 +223,9 @@ archive_cases_dv_subset \%>\%
 
 # Examining characteristics of the data passed to each computation with
 # `all_versions=FALSE`.
-archive_cases_dv_subset \%>\%
+archive_cases_dv_subset_2 \%>\%
   group_by(geo_value) \%>\%
-  epix_slide(
+  epix_slide2(
     function(x, gk, rtv) {
       tibble(
         time_range = if (nrow(x) == 0L) {
@@ -252,9 +252,9 @@ archive_cases_dv_subset \%>\%
 # to each computation. In this case, each computation should expect an
 # `epi_archive` containing the relevant version data:
 
-archive_cases_dv_subset \%>\%
+archive_cases_dv_subset_2 \%>\%
   group_by(geo_value) \%>\%
-  epix_slide(
+  epix_slide2(
     function(x, gk, rtv) {
       tibble(
         versions_start = if (nrow(x$DT) == 0L) {
diff --git a/man/group_by.epi_archive2.Rd b/man/group_by.epi_archive2.Rd
index 3191b134..fa9040c3 100644
--- a/man/group_by.epi_archive2.Rd
+++ b/man/group_by.epi_archive2.Rd
@@ -83,16 +83,16 @@ to \code{group_by_drop_default.default} (but there is a dedicated method for
 }
 \examples{
 
-grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset \%>\% group_by(geo_value)
+grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2 \%>\% group_by(geo_value)
 
 # `print` for metadata and method listing:
 grouped_archive \%>\% print()
 
 # The primary use for grouping is to perform a grouped `epix_slide`:
 
-archive_cases_dv_subset \%>\%
+archive_cases_dv_subset_2 \%>\%
   group_by(geo_value) \%>\%
-  epix_slide(
+  epix_slide2(
     f = ~ mean(.x$case_rate_7d_av),
     before = 2,
     ref_time_values = as.Date("2020-06-11") + 0:2,
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ toy_archive <-
     time_value = as.Date(time_value),
     version = as.Date(version)
   ) \%>\%
-  as_epi_archive(other_keys = "age_group")
+  as_epi_archive2(other_keys = "age_group")
 
 # The following are equivalent:
 toy_archive \%>\% group_by(geo_value, age_group)
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ toy_archive \%>\%
 
 toy_archive \%>\%
   group_by(geo_value, age_group, .drop = FALSE) \%>\%
-  epix_slide(f = ~ sum(.x$value), before = 20) \%>\%
+  epix_slide2(f = ~ sum(.x$value), before = 20) \%>\%
   ungroup()
 
 }
diff --git a/man/is_epi_archive2.Rd b/man/is_epi_archive2.Rd
index fd2f0a1f..df258d3e 100644
--- a/man/is_epi_archive2.Rd
+++ b/man/is_epi_archive2.Rd
@@ -19,15 +19,15 @@ count? Default is \code{FALSE}.}
 Test for \code{epi_archive} format
 }
 \examples{
-is_epi_archive(jhu_csse_daily_subset) # FALSE (this is an epi_df, not epi_archive)
-is_epi_archive(archive_cases_dv_subset) # TRUE
+is_epi_archive2(jhu_csse_daily_subset) # FALSE (this is an epi_df, not epi_archive)
+is_epi_archive2(archive_cases_dv_subset_2) # TRUE
 
 # By default, grouped_epi_archives don't count as epi_archives, as they may
 # support a different set of operations from regular `epi_archives`. This
 # behavior can be controlled by `grouped_okay`.
-grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset$group_by(geo_value)
-is_epi_archive(grouped_archive) # FALSE
-is_epi_archive(grouped_archive, grouped_okay = TRUE) # TRUE
+grouped_archive <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2 \%>\% group_by(geo_value)
+is_epi_archive2(grouped_archive) # FALSE
+is_epi_archive2(grouped_archive, grouped_okay = TRUE) # TRUE
 
 }
 \seealso{
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-archive_new.R b/tests/testthat/test-archive_new.R
index f2d0bde5..98f708d7 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-archive_new.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-archive_new.R
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ test_that("first input must be a data.frame", {
   )
 })
 
-dt <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT
+dt <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT
 
 test_that("data.frame must contain geo_value, time_value and version columns", {
   expect_error(as_epi_archive2(select(dt, -geo_value), compactify = FALSE),
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-compactify.R b/tests/testthat/test-compactify.R
index 4400c94a..58e97884 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-compactify.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-compactify.R
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ library(epiprocess)
 library(data.table)
 library(dplyr)
 
-dt <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT
+dt <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT
 dt <- filter(dt, geo_value == "ca") %>%
   filter(version <= "2020-06-15") %>%
   select(-case_rate_7d_av)
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-compactify_new.R b/tests/testthat/test-compactify_new.R
index f2887eaf..cd53913d 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-compactify_new.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-compactify_new.R
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ library(epiprocess)
 library(data.table)
 library(dplyr)
 
-dt <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT
+dt <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2$DT
 dt <- filter(dt, geo_value == "ca") %>%
   filter(version <= "2020-06-15") %>%
   select(-case_rate_7d_av)
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-epix_merge_new.R b/tests/testthat/test-epix_merge_new.R
index 594b7b5e..10041dbb 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-epix_merge_new.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-epix_merge_new.R
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 test_that("epix_merge requires forbids on invalid `y`", {
-  ea <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT %>%
-    as_epi_archive2() %>%
-    clone() %>%
-    suppressWarnings()
+  ea <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>%
+    clone()
   expect_error(epix_merge2(ea, data.frame(x = 1)))
 })
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-epix_slide_new.R b/tests/testthat/test-epix_slide_new.R
index f748231a..49ef5e41 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-epix_slide_new.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-epix_slide_new.R
@@ -800,7 +800,7 @@ test_that("`epix_slide2` can access objects inside of helper functions", {
     archive_haystack %>% epix_slide2(has_needle = time_value_needle %in% time_value, before = 365000L)
   }
   expect_error(
-    helper(suppressWarnings(as_epi_archive2(archive_cases_dv_subset$DT)), as.Date("2021-01-01")),
+    helper(archive_cases_dv_subset_2, as.Date("2021-01-01")),
     NA
   )
   expect_error(
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-methods-epi_archive_new.R b/tests/testthat/test-methods-epi_archive_new.R
index a267ba58..eb2c14be 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-methods-epi_archive_new.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-methods-epi_archive_new.R
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 library(dplyr)
 
-ea <- archive_cases_dv_subset$DT %>%
-  as_epi_archive2() %>%
-  clone() %>%
-  suppressWarnings()
+ea <- archive_cases_dv_subset_2 %>%
+  clone()
 
 ea2_data <- tibble::tribble(
   ~geo_value, ~time_value, ~version, ~cases,