diff --git a/MobileGL/MG_Remote/Wire/PipeWireCodec.cpp b/MobileGL/MG_Remote/Wire/PipeWireCodec.cpp
index b01d2c65..1d32f097 100644
--- a/MobileGL/MG_Remote/Wire/PipeWireCodec.cpp
+++ b/MobileGL/MG_Remote/Wire/PipeWireCodec.cpp
@@ -672,14 +672,20 @@ namespace MobileGL::MG_Remote::Wire {
         // The caller's tails are held to the layout the PAYLOAD declares, which is the same
         // arithmetic the decoder will run. A Count that says 4000 while the tail holds 8 bytes
         // dies here, on the producing side, rather than on a peer that can only say "corrupt".
-        if (tailCount != layout.TailCount) {
+        //
+        // A caller may SUPPLY FEWER TAILS THAN THE LAYOUT HAS, but only while the ones it left
+        // out are empty - Count == 0 is a legal record for every kVarTail row, and requiring a
+        // {nullptr, 0} entry for it would be a trap rather than a check. Anything else is a
+        // disagreement between the counts the payload declares and the bytes the caller holds.
+        if (tailCount > layout.TailCount) {
             WireProtocolFatalAt("EncodeRecord.tailCount", tailCount, layout.TailCount);
         }
-        for (Uint32 i = 0; i < tailCount; ++i) {
-            if (tails[i].Size != layout.TailBytes[i]) {
-                WireProtocolFatalAt("EncodeRecord.tailBytes", tails[i].Size, layout.TailBytes[i]);
+        for (Uint32 i = 0; i < layout.TailCount; ++i) {
+            const Uint64 supplied = i < tailCount ? tails[i].Size : 0;
+            if (supplied != layout.TailBytes[i]) {
+                WireProtocolFatalAt("EncodeRecord.tailBytes", supplied, layout.TailBytes[i]);
             }
-            if (tails[i].Size != 0 && tails[i].Bytes == nullptr) {
+            if (supplied != 0 && tails[i].Bytes == nullptr) {
                 WireProtocolFatal("EncodeRecord.tail", "non-zero tail length with a null pointer");
             }
         }
diff --git a/MobileGL/MG_Test/Wire/PipeWireCodecTest.cpp b/MobileGL/MG_Test/Wire/PipeWireCodecTest.cpp
index 13a72a68..d53ac624 100644
--- a/MobileGL/MG_Test/Wire/PipeWireCodecTest.cpp
+++ b/MobileGL/MG_Test/Wire/PipeWireCodecTest.cpp
@@ -452,6 +452,27 @@ TEST_F(PipeWireCodecTest, KVarTailRoundTripsWithItsTailIntact) {
     EXPECT_TRUE(applied);
 }
 
+TEST_F(PipeWireCodecTest, AnEmptyVarTailIsALegalRecordAndNeedsNoPlaceholderEntry) {
+    // Count == 0 is legal for every kVarTail row - "bind nothing at this range" - and a caller
+    // that had to pass a {nullptr, 0} entry for each absent tail would be walking into a trap
+    // rather than through a check. SetStreamOutputTargets is the sharpest case: its layout has
+    // TWO tails and both are empty at Count 0.
+    Wire2 wire;
+    MGPStreamOutputTargets header{};
+    header.Count = 0;
+    ASSERT_NE(wire.Encoder().EncodeRecord(MGPWireOp::SetStreamOutputTargets, &header, sizeof(header)),
+              kInvalidSeq);
+    MGPVertexBuffers buffers{};
+    buffers.Count = 0;
+    ASSERT_NE(wire.Encoder().EncodeRecord(MGPWireOp::SetVertexBuffers, &buffers, sizeof(buffers)),
+              kInvalidSeq);
+    bool applied = false;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(wire.PumpOne(&applied));
+    EXPECT_FALSE(applied); // no applier for stream output; off the reduced path
+    ASSERT_TRUE(wire.PumpOne(&applied));
+    EXPECT_TRUE(applied);
+}
+
 TEST_F(PipeWireCodecTest, KReplySlotMapPersistentIsAConstantDecline) {
     // R-6 / R-2.4. DECLINED is a real answer, not a failure, and the applier is not called at
     // all: the record's payload is a bare MGPHandleOnly and carries NEITHER the size NOR the