I took a break from the game during October to play scary games. I started playing this again over the weekend picking up where I left off in my game (chapter 6). I had been putting Mason Gambit on every enemy agent and releasing them, but right before I took a break, I unlocked Control phrase and have put that one some I have re-captured.

When I re-captured agents with Mason Gambit after unlocking Control Phrase, I put CP on them too. Every known enemy agent has Control Phrase, and some have both Control Phrase and Mason Gambit. I started using only CP mainly because I don't want to end up with a bunch of extra agents. I'd rather catch and release them back to the enemy, but on one mission I had knocked out an enemy agent with MG and was carrying them to the evac when a civ spotted me one turn away from the evac, which started combat. I evaced the next turn, but the unconscious enemy agent was now in my roster. I released them hoping they would go back, but they didn't.

I have had Mason Gambit triggered twice, but I've only used Control Phrase once. The first time Mason Gambit triggered, an enemy agent spotted one of my agents on their turn, shot him, then flipped to my side. On the same mission was a second enemy agent with MG that flipped to my side. I had to use Control Phrase on a stop enemy recon mission because the agent was in a room with a guard and civilians. The were all in sight of one another, so there was no way I could knock them out. I use the CP, went to the evac and released them, and this time they went back to the enemy.

Tonight I was assaulting an enemy cell, in which I had intel that showed three enemy agents on site. Two had MG + CP, and one only CP. On turn one, I moved one of my agents past a window and got spotted by one of the enemy agents. I immediately used the control phrase on her, used her to steal a document in the room she was in, then put her on overwatch.

On the enemy turn, the agent I used control phrase on turned back to enemy, but I didn't notice until it was my turn again because all she just moved to cover. A second agent came out and shot one of my agents in the face, but didn't kill her. I assumed that was the agent with only CP, so on my turn, I used CP on the second agent. Then I noticed I no longer had control of the first agent I used CP on. The next turn, the second agent I CPed, turned back to enemy too.

I loaded the save from before starting the mission to check the names of the enemy agents on site to see who had what. The two agents that flip flopped had both Mason Gambit and Control Phrase, so they seem to be countering each other. I loaded the auto save from turn 1, got my agent spotted again and didn't use control phrase. On my turn, both enemy agents with Mason Gambit were on my side, neither one shooting my agents.

Edit: I also tested using Control Phrase first on one of the agents, then started combat by shooting a guard, and the agent I used CP on flips back to the enemy side on the next turn. That time it took two turns for the other agent with Control Phrase and Mason Gambit to switch sides. Previously they've switched to my side on my next turn after combat begins, but this one didn't switch for two. Do they have to see one of my agents before switching? He didn't switch sides until after seeing and shooting at one of my agents.