What happens to permanents exchanged between different players?

When permanents are exchanged between different players, the correct outcome is that each player gains control of the other's permanent. This exchange happens according to the game's rules, which allow for control to be transferred as specified by various effects or abilities.

In Magic: The Gathering, control of a permanent is defined as the ability to use it as your own, which can include attacking with creatures, using abilities, and tapping it for mana. When a permanent is exchanged, its ownership does not change; however, the control does. This means the card still belongs to the original owner, but its effects and potential actions are now available to the new controller.

Understanding this ability to exchange control is crucial, as many spells and abilities hinge on the nuances of control versus ownership. A player can exercise strategic options with a permanent they control, regardless of who technically owns it.

The other options do not align with the way control exchanges function. For example, returning permanents to their owner's hand or libraries does not reflect the original intent behind an exchange; such actions generally require explicit instructions from a card's text or an effect that specifically dictates that outcome. Likewise, the idea that an exchange fails if controlled by different players misrepresents the nature of how control can shift in the