From the debug logs I saw it trying to load the i915 driver which seemed suspcious so I checked my (UEFI) BIOS and there was a feature called "IGPU Multi-Monitor" enabled that looks like it might keep the integrated graphics card active even when there is a PCI-E card in place. I disabled that and I now see graphics while booting (and importantly the password prompt for full drive encryption).
I am not closing this myself because it still seems like a problem that many people could experience and who may be unequipped to deal with it.
From the debug logs I saw it trying to load the i915 driver which seemed suspcious so I checked my (UEFI) BIOS and there was a feature called "IGPU Multi-Monitor" enabled that looks like it might keep the integrated graphics card active even when there is a PCI-E card in place. I disabled that and I now see graphics while booting (and importantly the password prompt for full drive encryption).
I am not closing this myself because it still seems like a problem that many people could experience and who may be unequipped to deal with it.