Confusion in the Ranks MTG Card


Confusion in the Ranks - Mirrodin
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment
Released2003-10-02
Set symbol
Set nameMirrodin
Set codeMRD
Number87
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byRon Spencer

Key Takeaways

  1. Non-traditional card advantage comes from stealing opponents’ key permanents, disrupting their game plan.
  2. Resource acceleration is possible by controlling more powerful permanents, enhancing your in-game assets.
  3. The enchantment’s instant-speed benefit lets you make the most of newly acquired permanents spontaneously.

Text of card

Whenever an artifact, creature, or enchantment comes into play, its controller chooses target permanent another player controls that shares a type with it. Exchange control of those permanents.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Confusion in the Ranks presents a unique twist by offering a type of non-traditional card advantage. Instead of drawing extra cards, it disrupts opponents by stealing their key permanents, therefore increasing your own control over the game’s resources.

Resource Acceleration: With this enchantment in play, you have the ability to gain control of more powerful permanents than you had initially played. This kind of exchange can often translate into a form of resource acceleration as you could end up controlling permanents that generate additional mana or other valuable effects.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Confusion in the Ranks allows you to benefit from the instant speed of spells and abilities from the permanents you acquire. This opens up the possibility to utilize opponents’ instant-speed resources effectively, providing a tactical advantage as battles unfold.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Confusion in the Ranks doesn’t require a traditional discard, it forces a constant exchange of permanents which can be equivalent to discarding a valuable asset you’ve played. This constant churn of resources can leave players feeling like they are discarding control of their own board state.

Specific Mana Cost: Confusion in the Ranks has a purely red mana cost, making it exclusive for red or multicolor decks. This restricts its utility solely for those willing to commit to red’s chaotic strategies, limiting deck diversity and potentially excluding players not oriented towards such playstyles.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a five mana investment necessary to bring Confusion in the Ranks into play, it can be burdensome in the early game. In formats where speed is of the essence, this card may be sitting in your hand while opponents are establishing their presence on the board. Additionally, other cards may offer immediate impact or control for a similar or lesser cost.


Reasons to Include Confusion in the Ranks in Your Collection

Versatility: Confusion in the Ranks is a unique enchantment that can dramatically alter the flow of the game. It fits into a variety of chaotic and control decks, forcing players to adapt their strategies on the fly.

Combo Potential: This card has significant potential in decks that are built to take advantage of the continuous trading of permanents. It pairs well with cards that generate tokens, allowing you to swap those for more valuable permanents from opponents.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s heavy on creature-based strategies or reliant on specific permanents, Confusion in the Ranks can disrupt your opponents’ plans and turn the tide in your favor, making it a sleeper hit in certain metagames.


How to beat

Confusion in the Ranks is a unique enchantment in Magic: The Gathering that can turn a game on its head, by swapping control of nonland permanents every time a spell or permanent enters the battlefield under a player’s control. This card is notorious for creating chaotic board states and leaving opponents flustered, but understanding its mechanism can be your key to victory.

To navigate this bewildering enchantment, consider using token-generating cards. Tokens are perfect for trading since they usually hold less value. With Confusion in the Ranks, you could end up controlling more beneficial permanents. Another strategy is to use low-impact permanents as trade bait, ensuring the swaps lead to your advantage. It’s also sensible to hold back on casting high-value spells while the enchantment is active or to employ removal spells swiftly to regain command of the game. Tactics like enchantment removal or direct damage to creatures can dismantle the Confusion in the Ranks’ effect, swiftly turning the tide in your favor.

The key is in carefully timing your plays and fully grasping the current board state to leverage Confusion in the Ranks to your advantage or render it harmless before it disrupts your game plan too severely.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the enchanting chaos of Confusion in the Ranks is about more than just embracing disorder. It’s a delicate dance of strategy, timing, and anticipation. For those who thrive in the mayhem, this card can be the linchpin of an unpredictable and powerful deck—but it’s not without challenges. To truly capitalize on its potential, one must artfully navigate the ever-shifting game state it induces. If you’re ready to push the boundaries of your MTG gameplay and disrupt the norm, delve deeper with us. Learn to harness this card’s unique mechanics and integrate it seamlessly into your winning strategy.


Cards like Confusion in the Ranks

Confusion in the Ranks stands out within the grouping of chaos-inducing spells in Magic: The Gathering. It bears comparison to cards like Grip of Chaos, which also brings a level of unpredictability to the game. Unlike Grip of Chaos, which affects targeting decisions, Confusion in the Ranks specifically targets the control of artifacts, creatures, and enchantments whenever they come into play, leading to potentially game-altering exchanges between players.

Permutable with Confusion in the Ranks is Possibility Storm, a card that also alters the game’s natural order by replacing spells with random draws from the deck. However, Possibility Storm acts whenever a player casts a spell, making it less predictable than Confusion in the Ranks, which requires a trigger of a permanent entering the battlefield. On the other hand, there’s also Shared Fate, which exchanges the fate of players’ libraries altogether but lacks the immediate, switch-driven impact of Confusion in the Ranks on the battlefield dynamic.

While examining these conjure-ups, Confusion in the Ranks carves its niche by offering continuous opportunities for players to shift board control, distinguishing it from its counterparts and highlighting its unique role in chaotic gameplay strategies.

Grip of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Possibility Storm - MTG Card versions
Shared Fate - MTG Card versions
Grip of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Possibility Storm - MTG Card versions
Shared Fate - MTG Card versions

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Dictate of the Twin Gods - MTG Card versions
Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded - MTG Card versions
Double Vision - MTG Card versions
Aether Charge - MTG Card versions
Gratuitous Violence - MTG Card versions
Yet Another Aether Vortex - MTG Card versions
Where Ancients Tread - MTG Card versions
Rumbling Aftershocks - MTG Card versions
Heretic's Punishment - MTG Card versions
Curse of Bloodletting - MTG Card versions
Pyroconvergence - MTG Card versions
Possibility Storm - MTG Card versions
Witch Hunt - MTG Card versions
Blood Rites - MTG Card versions
Knowledge and Power - MTG Card versions
Burning Anger - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Confusion in the Ranks MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Confusion in the Ranks and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Confusion in the Ranks has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Confusion in the Ranks card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2004-10-04 The exchange isn’t optional. If there is a legal choice, you must make one.
2004-12-01 Confusion in the Ranks triggers on itself entering the battlefield. If an opponent controls an enchantment, exchange Confusion in the Ranks for that enchantment.
2004-12-01 Even though Confusion in the Ranks triggers only when an artifact, creature, or enchantment enters the battlefield, the ability can target a land if the permanent entering the battlefield is an artifact land.
2004-12-01 The permanents are exchanged only if they’re both on the battlefield when the ability resolves.
2004-12-01 The permanents have to share a permanent type both when the target is chosen and when the ability resolves.

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