Ending up in the graveyard is the fate of most Yu-Gi-Oh! cards involved in a duel. Destroyed, sent to the graveyard, or discarded—how a card gets to the graveyard can make all the difference. Some cards are very general about effects that can trigger when they reach the graveyard, but some are very specific. Let's examine the terms surrounding a card's trip to the graveyard, learn the differences, and get a deeper understanding of how the cards work.

One hears the word "destroyed" a lot during a duel. When a card is destroyed, it is usually sent to the graveyard, although occasionally it is removed from play. There are two ways to destroy a card: in battle or through a card effect. To destroy a card in battle, a duelist would attack it using a monster that has an equal or higher attack, for example, attacking a Gemini Elf with an Archfiend Soldier, a Goblin Attack Force, or a Hayabusa Knight equipped with Axe of Despair. If the ATK values of the monsters involved are equal, both are destroyed and sent to the graveyard. If the attacking monster has a higher ATK, the card targeted by the attack is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, and any extra damage is subtracted from its owner's life points. A duelist could also choose to destroy his or her own card in battle by using it to attack a monster with a higher ATK. For example, choosing to attack a Luster Dragon with a Nimble Momonga would destroy the Nimble Momonga.

Remember that "destroyed in battle" means destroyed as a result of a successful attack. Monsters destroyed as a result of Mirror Force or a set Offerings to the Doomed, even during the battle phase, are not considered destroyed as a result of battle.

Why care if a monster is destroyed as a result of battle? Isn't "destroyed" just . . . destroyed? Well, there are a few cards that gain additional effects only when they are destroyed in battle. Cards like Mystic Tomato, Giant Rat, or Pyramid Turtle allow a duelist to special summon another monster from his or her deck to the field only when they are destroyed and sent to the graveyard as a result of battle. Helpoemer's effect, which forces your opponent to discard one card from his or her hand to the graveyard at the end of his or her battle phase as long as Helpoemer is in your graveyard, will only activate if Helpoemer was destroyed and sent to the graveyard as a result of battle.

Cards can also be destroyed or sent to the graveyard as a result of a card effect, such as a monster effect, like Man-Eater Bug's flip effect; a spell card effect, like Offerings to the Doomed; or a trap card effect, like Ring of Destruction. While many monsters state that they must be destroyed or sent to the graveyard as a result of battle in order to gain their effects, one card in particular, Vampire Lord, must be destroyed as a result of a card effect for one of its effects—being special summoned to the field during the owner's next standby phase—to resolve. If it gets taken out by Fissure, it will come back, but if it got whacked by a Giant Orc instead, it will stay in the graveyard.

And then we have cards with effects that depend on just plain being destroyed. Be it in battle or by card effect, these monsters will get their effect regardless. If a Terrorking Archfiend is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, regardless of what destroys it, a duelist can send Desrook Archfiend to the graveyard from his or her hand to special summon it back to the field. If Dark Necrofear is destroyed, in battle or by card effect, its effect will activate and it will equip itself to one of the opponent's monsters, control of which will switch to Dark Necrofear's owner.

We've talked over "destroyed," so now we will focus on "sent to the graveyard." Cards can be sent to the Graveyard in a number of ways, be it from the field by being destroyed in battle; from the field, hand, or deck by being targeted by a card effect; or by being offered as a tribute. Tributes can be offered to tribute summon a new monster or to fulfill the requirements of another card effect, like the required tribute of a Dragon type monster to special summon Tyrant Dragon from the graveyard.

There are a number of cards with effects that trigger when they are sent to the graveyard, some of which specifically state, "sent from the field to the graveyard," or "sent directly from your hand or deck." Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan are both monster cards that, when they are sent from the field to the graveyard, allow a duelist to search his or her deck for a monster that fulfills certain requirements. Despair from the Dark, on the other hand, can be special summoned from the graveyard if sent there directly from a duelist's hand or deck as a result of his or her opponent's card effect, such as Delinquent Duo. If an opponent is obliging enough to use a card effect to send Electric Snake to the graveyard from a duelist's hand, the duelist can draw two cards. Manticore of Darkness will be special summoned during the end phase of the turn in which it was sent to the graveyard, regardless of how it got there.

While "sent" is often used interchangeably with "destroy," a duelist must remember that they are not always the same thing. An excellent example of this would be how the equip spell card Butterfly Dagger - Elma interacts with Gearfried the Iron Knight, and how it interacts with Woodland Sprite. Butterfly Dagger - Elma states that if it is destroyed while equipped to a monster, Butterfly Dagger - Elma returns to its owner's hand. Gearfried the Iron Knight states that any equip card equipped to it is automatically destroyed. So, if a duelist were to equip Butterfly Dagger - Elma to Gearfried the Iron Knight, Butterfly Dagger - Elma would automatically be destroyed. Since Butterfly Dagger - Elma's effect specifies "destroyed while equipped to a monster," Butterfly Dagger - Elma returns to its owner's hand. Woodland Sprite, however, reads, "Send an Equip Spell Card equipped to this monster to the Graveyard to inflict 500 points of Direct Damage per Equip Spell Card to your opponent's Life Points." In this instance, since Butterfly Dagger - Elma is sent to the graveyard, rather than being destroyed, it will not return to its owner's hand.


And the last way for a card to get to the graveyard—being discarded. Cards can be discarded as a result of a card effect, as a cost, or if a duelist has more than six cards in hand when he or she reaches his or her end phase.

Card effects include spell cards, such as Card Destruction, which require players to discard their entire hands and draw new ones. Trap cards, like Robbin' Goblin, allow a duelist to randomly select and discard one card from his or her opponent's hand whenever one of the duelist's monsters inflicts damage to the opponent's life points. There are also monster cards that allow a duelist to discard cards from their opponent's hand, such as Don Zaloog and Spirit Reaper.

Discarding a card can also be a cost associated with activating another card. Certain spell cards, like Tribute to the Doomed, require a card to be discarded from the hand as a cost to activate them, and some monster cards, like Tribe-Infecting Virus, have effects that cannot be used unless a card is discarded from the hand.

If a duelist reaches his or her end phase and is holding more than six cards, cards must be discarded from the hand to the graveyard until he or she has no more than six.

Discarding a card can be an excellent way to get a necessary card into the graveyard. If a duelist is holding Tribute to the Doomed, Monster Reborn, and Jinzo in his or her hand, he or she could gain an advantage by discarding Jinzo as a cost to get rid of one of the opponent's monsters, then using the Monster Reborn to bring Jinzo onto the field. Decks that focus on life point gain might like to combine Marie the Fallen One with Graceful Charity.

It is interesting to note that "discard" and "send" are also occasionally used interchangeably. In some cases, as demonstrated by "destroy" and "send," it will not impact a card's effect, but in other cases, it will. It can be really confusing sometimes, trying to figure out when "discard" or "destroy" and "send" are interchangeable, so if after reading over the cards carefully and comparing their effects to the effects on similar cards, you are still unsure about the specifics of a given card or combination of cards, check with your local judge, or contact customer service at Upper Deck Entertainment (customer_service@upperdeck.com) to get a correct ruling.

Study your cards, pay attention to their effects, and learn how they work. Knowing how the different routes to the graveyard impact a card's effect will help you get the most out of the card, ensure that you and your opponents follow the rules, and increase your confidence in your knowledge of the game!