Tribe Switch

A Tribe Switch (also known as Tribe Shuffle or Tribe Swap) is the first game-changing twist of Survivor. This twist sends members from one tribe to the rival tribe and vice versa.

About
The Tribe Switch is a twist can happen in a random point during a game and this reassignment of tribes will be effective until the tribes merge or a new opportunity to switch tribes shows up (e.g. a Mutiny or a second switch.) This is denoted by contestants wearing a newly supplied Buff that is colored according to their new tribe. They would then drop their old buff on the ground and start wearing the new one.

Normally it would send half of the tribe to the other when both tribes have equal number of tribe members (known as Tribe Swap), though it has changed over the years. One such example is in Survivor: Nicaragua where one tribe has nine members while the other has seven, and the switch evened the tribes out with eight members each. This also applies to season that has an Exile Island twist, where if the number of remaining contestants is odd, the odd-man-out will be sent to Exile Island, and would wait for a tribe to vote out a member, and be their replacement, thus having equal numbers.

A variant of the tribe switch, the Tribe Dissolve, where one or more tribes are vacated and don't exist after the switch. It either requires the entire tribe to be dismantled and its remaining members are spread into the remaining tribes (absorption) or requires that all remaining players, usually in four or three tribes, in the game are shuffled between two of four tribes. The other tribes that are not used in the shuffle ceases to exist. Another example of the tribe dissolve is conquering, where a tribe has only one member left and the last one is just sent to the rival tribe for the rest of the game; this has happened only once, when Ulong was dissolved in.

Survivor: Africa
The first time a switch occurred was in Survivor: Africa, where both Samburu and Boran tribes were instructed via Tree Mail to send three representatives to meet the host for reasons still unknown at the time. Once the representatives arrived at the meeting place, the host informed them they would be joining the other tribe. This event caused became a major key point in the game, where Teresa Cooper and Frank Garrison turned on fellow Samburu-turned-Boran member Silas Gaither for mistreating them at the old Samburu due to being older members of the tribe. Cooper and Garrison plotted with the original Boran members to oust Gaither. Continuing their revenge streak, the two then revealed the identity of the only remaining person who had votes during their previous Tribal Councils to exploit the then-rule of counting previous votes to break deadlock ties—Silas' former alliance partner Lindsey Richter. The original Borans secretly relayed the information to their former tribemates that are now Samburu members during the subsequent Reward Challenge. Utilizing this information, the Borans at Samburu successfully eliminated Richter, entering the merge with a 6-4 voting advantage.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Marquesas
A severely depleted Maraamu tribe further decimated after the tribe swap, for the tribe was already down to its last five members while the enemy Rotu tribe was still complete at eight. Stepping on random disks with buffs underneath, the Maraamu five were split, with three on the new Rotu, while two stayed at Maraamu. Outnumbered at the new Maraamu, the two only original members Sarah Jones and Gina Crews were voted off, leaving the three switched members occupying the camp. At the new Rotu, the three former Maraamu members were in particular trouble, being outnumbered by three to five, but one original Rotu member, Gabriel Cade revealed that he does not want to employ strategy, making the whole tribe turn on him and vote him out.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: The Amazon
After twelve days competing as tribes defined by sex, both tribes' youngest members Jenna Morasca and Dave Johnson went to an overnight paradise, with food, bedding and a bath. The next morning, the host revealed that they would decide which members are staying on their tribes and who to send to the other tribe. The switch proved to be a successful one, especially for the women, where Christy Smith, who felt prejudiced at the women's tribe because she was deaf, was delighted that her new male members were considerate enough to place a lamp near their lip when they talk so Smith will not be left out from any conversation. On the other hand, Shawna Mitchell, who was visibly weak and emotional, became more jovial upon seeing male members join their tribe. This caused inter-tribal alliances to form at the merge.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Pearl Islands
The season featured the controversial Outcasts twist. The Outcasts, a tribe consisting of the first six eliminated castaways, were given the opportunity to re-enter the game. If they were to defeat the Drake and Morgan tribes in an Immunity Challenge, they would vote two of their own back into the game. The Outcasts won the challenge, granting them this priviledge. When The Outcasts' Tribal Council was finished, the "tribe" of the Outcasts was disbanded and ceased to exist. Burton Roberts joined Drake, while Lillian Morris joined Morgan.
 * Type: Disbanding of a special tribe (see Dissolve)

Switch #1

 * Type: Absorption (see Dissolve)

The season started with three tribes. This was the first time a Tribe Dissolve of a starting tribe occurred, as the tribe that lost the Reward Challenge on Day 13 would be dissolved, their members absorbed into the other two tribes. Saboga lost the challenge, becoming the first starting tribe to cease to exist prior to the merge.

Switch #2
On Day 22, the two remaining tribes convened at a Reward Challenge after receiving cryptic Tree Mail instructing them to paint their bodies. They learned that they would not be competing, and instead they would be paired off to enjoy a picnic with somebody from the other tribe. Under the presumption they will merge, Jeff Probst revealed a vase containing buffs. To their surprise, the familiar red and green buffs emerged, signaling a tribe switch. In a rather odd coincidence, nine of the ten castaways switched tribes: all four members of Mogo Mogo were switched to Chapera, while five of the six Chapera members were switched to Mogo Mogo. The only contestant to not switch tribes, Amber Brkich, was left on Chapera with none of her old tribemates.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Vanuatu
Both tribes were approached by Vanuatu tribesmen and tasked to select one person to become their "Chief" (denoted by holding a tribal staff). Lopevi chose Lea whilst Yasur chose Scout. At the Reward Challenge, Jeff announced that the tribes would be switched with Scout selecting the tribes and Lea deciding which one to lead. The person who was not picked, Lisa Keiffer, chose which new tribe she would join. This method of choosing tribes meant that only four of the thirteen remaining castaways would be switched, two to each new tribe.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Palau
When Stephenie LaGrossa was the only Ulong tribe member left, the Tree Mail informed her that she will become part of Koror and instructed her to go their camp, where she was given a Koror buff. Stephenie was the second person voted out of the new Koror tribe, finishing in 7th place.
 * Type: Conquering (see Dissolve)

Survivor: Guatemala
While some players were away, both tribes were asked Who has the most tribe pride? The person who was selected (Brian Corridan for Yaxha and Cindy Hall for Nakum) would remain on the tribe, while the present contestants would switch tribes.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Panama
The season started with four tribes divided by age and gender. On Day 4, Bayoneta and Viveros were dissolved, with the 15 remaining contestants were shuffled into the new Casaya and La Mina tribes with seven members each with a Schoolyard Pick. The contestant left, Bruce Kanegai was sent to Exile Island, and would be replacing the next eliminated player.
 * Type: Disbanding (see Dissolve)

Survivor: Cook Islands
On Day 7, four tribes became two. Puka Puka and Manihiki were disbanded, with the 18 remaining contestants were randomly spread by Schoolyard Pick into the new Rarotonga and Aitutaki tribes with 9 members each.
 * Type: Disbanding (see Dissolve)

Survivor: Fiji
Captains were chosen, and teams were chosen by a Schoolyard Pick. Then, the captains would draw buffs, to determine what camp the teams would live on, changing several of the near-spoiled Moto members, sending them to the Barest Essential Holding Ravu camp (and vice-versa), all due to the Haves vs Have Nots twist. Once again, the unpicked contestant, Lisi Linares, was sent to Exile Island and would replace the next one to be eliminated.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: China
In a more straightforward fashion, the two tribes received Tree Mail on Day 13, instructing them to chose two "warriors" from the rival tribe to added onto them.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Micronesia
Both tribes would separately draw rocks. The two castaways to draw tribe-colored rocks (Ozzy Lusth and Natalie Bolton) would be the captains in a Schoolyard Pick.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Switch #1
Both tribes ranked one person in secret as the most important within their tribe. The castaways voted most important would stay on their former tribes and become the new captains in a second Schoolyard Pick.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Switch #2
Castaways drew a numbered stone from a bag. The castaways who drew odd numbers became the new Fang tribe, while even numbers became the new Kota tribe.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Nicaragua
Once again, the tribes would draw rocks. The castaways to draw their tribe's colored stone would be the captains (Brenda Lowe for La Flor and Holly Hoffman for Espada). The captains privately chose members of the other tribe (because La Flor had one more member, Brenda chose three while Holly chose four), to join their tribe. Because the tribes were no longer divided by age, the Medallion of Power was no longer usable.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: One World
At random, the castaways would all pick eggs. Once they all received an egg, they would smash the egg against their bodies, and whatever color paint it contained would represent their new tribe, orange paint for the new Manono, and blue paint for the new Salani. The tribes both swapped three players to the opposite tribe, with Jay Byars, Michael Jefferson, and Troyzan Robertson switching to Salani, as Alicia Rosa, Christina Cha, and Monica Culpepper switched to Manono.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Survivor: Philippines
This season started out with three tribes. After Matsing lost four of their original six members, the remaining two members were dissolved into the other two tribes, Kalabaw and Tandang.
 * Type: Absorption (see Dissolve)

Survivor: Caramoan
The season featured a tribe swap after six castaways were eliminated. This switch was similar to the One World switch, where contestants smashed eggs against them, and the colors indicated which tribe they would be on.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

The eggs were originally divided four ways by tribe and gender to ensure an even switch; as there were only two female members of the original Gota tribe, one of them would remain on Gota while the other would be switched to Bikal. A similar process was used for the three other tribe/gender combinations, each of which had four members. As a result, both tribes had seven members after the switch: three Fans and four Favorites; three women and four men.

Survivor: Blood vs Water
The season featured a tribe swap when there were twelve castaways still in the game (and two are currently in Redemption Island). Each castaway was asked to get one bamboo tube on a tray, which contains a hidden buff that would determine which tribe the castaway would belong to.
 * Type: Tribe Switch

Tribe Dissolve
See Tribe Dissolve

Absorption
 * Survivor: All-Stars
 * Survivor: Philippines

Disbanding
 * Survivor: Panama
 * Survivor: Cook Islands
 * Survivor: Cagayan

Conquering
 * Survivor: Palau

Mutiny
See Mutiny (twist)

Trivia

 * Survivor: China had the least amount of people switch tribes, with only four people.
 * Survivor: Cagayan has had the most people switch tribes, with a whopping 11 out of 14 people switching tribes.