Hello,

Confusion in the Ranks is on the battlefield. Two creatures enter the battlefield simultaneously under different players control (e.g. due to Show and Tell). The creatures are targeted each other with Confusion in the Ranks. What happens?

Will there only be one exchange, or will there be two? Or, how do I determine the legality of “target permanent another player controls” if the controller is changing?

Will there be any difference if it's a three player game where player A targets player B's creature, player B targets player C's creature and player C targets player A's creature?

There will be one exchange in the two-player scenario.

The three-player scenario depends on the order the abilities are put onto the stack. As there are many cases, I won't write them out, but it's not hard to figure out once you have the rule.

Basically, “its controller” is choosing a target, so the identity of this player is fixed when the ability is put onto the stack. “Another player” then always refers to a player different from that one. In the two-player case, after the first switch, the targets are checked again for legality as you are about to resolve the second ability; you find that the player who controls the target is the same player who controlled the object when the object entered the battlefield, so the target is illegal and the ability is countered. The three-player case is similar; just compare, before resolving each ability, who controls the target and who controlled the object when the object entered the battlefield.

Daniel Kitachewsky
L3, Paris, France
Rules NetRep