diff --git a/docs/MOUNT_TAXONOMY.md b/docs/MOUNT_TAXONOMY.md
index c685e9a..0a8b8f2 100644
--- a/docs/MOUNT_TAXONOMY.md
+++ b/docs/MOUNT_TAXONOMY.md
@@ -75,6 +75,15 @@ Mellumwork ternary / conflict-resolution-faithfulness machinery is paid *only* o
 Add `reference mount (no copy)` as a fourth column on the intermittent-link box with the availability
 precondition on the edge, and the two diagrams are one.
 
+**The Needs firewall prunes the lattice first.** `backend_for` now takes `needs` +
+`offline_tolerant` + `store_locality`, and two Needs forbid the cheap reference-mount *before* link
+availability is even consulted: a **`no_egress`** Need on a **remote** store (a remote reference-mount
+*is* egress → forced to a local copy), and **offline-tolerance** (a reference-mount has zero offline
+capability → must cache locally even over a reliable link). A `no_egress` Need on a *local* store is
+fine — a local mount is not egress. So the real signature is
+`intent × link × durability × needs → backend`, and the Needs firewall and the mount lattice are one
+plane, not two.
+
 ## The honest counterexample
 
 The sandbox's root ext4 is simultaneously runtime image, scratch, cache, and working directory — the
diff --git a/tools/data_sphere.py b/tools/data_sphere.py
index 81ebe67..e3c01df 100644
--- a/tools/data_sphere.py
+++ b/tools/data_sphere.py
@@ -85,13 +85,29 @@ def check_egress_invariant(mounts: list) -> dict:
                        else f"{len(egress)} egress mounts ({egress}); the invariant is at most one, named")}
 
 
-def backend_for(*, intent: str, link_availability: str, durability: str) -> dict:
-    """intent x link_availability x durability -> backend. The reconciliation burden is a function of
-    this product, not a property of the data. Over a reliable link: REFERENCE-mount (no copy)."""
+def backend_for(*, intent: str, link_availability: str, durability: str, needs: dict | None = None,
+                offline_tolerant: bool = False, store_locality: str = "remote") -> dict:
+    """intent x link_availability x durability x NEEDS -> backend. The reconciliation burden is a
+    function of this product, not a property of the data.
+
+    The Needs firewall prunes the lattice BEFORE link availability, because two Needs forbid the
+    cheap reference-mount outright:
+      * a `no_egress` Need on a REMOTE store — a remote reference-mount *is* egress, so it's
+        forbidden; the data must be copied local.
+      * offline-tolerance — a reference-mount has zero offline capability (cut the link, it fails),
+        so a workload that must survive link loss has to cache locally even over a reliable link.
+    Only after those prunes does link availability pick reference-mount vs copy+reconcile.
+    """
+    needs = needs or {}
+    if needs.get("no_egress") and store_locality == "remote":
+        return {"backend": "local-copy", "copy": True, "reconciliation": durability == "canonical",
+                "note": "no_egress Need forbids a remote reference-mount (which IS egress) -> local copy"}
+    if offline_tolerant:
+        return {"backend": "local-cache", "copy": True, "reconciliation": durability == "canonical",
+                "note": "offline-tolerant: a reference-mount fails on link loss -> local cache"}
     if link_availability == "reliable":
         return {"backend": "reference-mount", "copy": False, "reconciliation": False,
                 "note": "mount it, don't sync it — no second copy, no divergence, no CRF machinery"}
-    # intermittent link -> forced into copy semantics
     if durability == "canonical":
         return {"backend": "copy+reconcile", "copy": True, "reconciliation": True,
                 "note": "intermittent + canonical: copy forces divergence -> conflict-resolution (SP-EVAL-CRF-001)"}
diff --git a/tools/test_data_sphere.py b/tools/test_data_sphere.py
index ddb133f..f1fbdc0 100644
--- a/tools/test_data_sphere.py
+++ b/tools/test_data_sphere.py
@@ -65,6 +65,21 @@ def test_backend_lattice_reference_mounts_over_reliable_links():
     assert derived["copy"] is True and derived["reconciliation"] is False
 
 
+def test_needs_prune_the_lattice_before_link_availability():
+    # a no_egress Need on a REMOTE store: a remote reference-mount IS egress -> forbidden -> local copy
+    remote = ds.backend_for(intent="canonical", link_availability="reliable", durability="canonical",
+                            needs={"no_egress": True}, store_locality="remote")
+    assert remote["backend"] == "local-copy" and remote["copy"] is True
+    # but a LOCAL store may still be reference-mounted under no_egress (a local mount is not egress)
+    local = ds.backend_for(intent="canonical", link_availability="reliable", durability="canonical",
+                           needs={"no_egress": True}, store_locality="local")
+    assert local["backend"] == "reference-mount"
+    # offline-tolerance forbids reference-mount even over a reliable link (it fails on link loss)
+    off = ds.backend_for(intent="canonical", link_availability="reliable", durability="canonical",
+                         offline_tolerant=True)
+    assert off["backend"] == "local-cache" and off["copy"] is True
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     import sys
     fns = [v for k, v in sorted(globals().items()) if k.startswith("test_")]