Advanced Gameplay FAQ: Negate & Destroy Difference

To negate a card is to prevent a card from activating, using its effect and/or being Summoned. Destroying a card is not the same as negating the card.
For example, when a player activates "Dark Hole" and the other player Chains "Mystical Space Typhoon" targeting "Dark Hole", it will destroy "Dark Hole", but "Dark Hole" will still resolve, so the monsters are still destroyed.

Such card examples that negate are:

-Using "Seven Tools of the Bandit" on "Royal Decree"
-Using "Magic Jammer" on "Monster Reborn"
-Using "Trap Jammer" on "Mirror Force"
-Using "Skill Drain" on "Chaos Sorcerer"
-Using "Solemn Judgment", "Horn of Heaven" or "Forced Back" on the Summoning of "Jinzo"

To negate an attack is to stop a battle from taking place and preventing the monster from attacking again during the same turn. Cards which can do this include "Magic Cylinder", "Draining Shield", and "Negate Attack".

Note that cards such as "Sakuretsu Armor", "Mirror Force" and "Dimensional Prison" do not negate attacks. The attacking monster is removed from the field during the Battle Step and the attack ends. If the Monster has an effect that prevents it from being removed from the field in the way the card would remove it, the attack continues regardless of the activation of the Trap; for example, if "Total Defense Shogun" attacks while in Defense Positon and the opponent activates "Mirror Force", the attack follows through as normal as "Total Defense Shogun" is not removed from the field.

Destroy refers to an act that results normally in sending a card to the Graveyard, happen due to:
Card effects that uses the term "destroy" (like "Exiled Force", "Horn of Heaven").
Maintenance cost that uses the term "destroy" (like "Messenger of Peace").
Game mechanics, due:
Monsters battling. Monsters conduct on battle will be destroyed during damage calculation if:
Their ATK is equal to or less than the opposite monster's ATK, if it's ATK vs. ATK battle.
Their DEF is less than the attacking monster's ATK, if it's ATK vs. DEF battle.
Playing Field Spell Card. Active Field Spell Cards will be destroyed after resolving another Field Spell Card. Also, a played Field Spell Card will be destroyed as well if its controller would play another Field Spell Card.

Equipped monster condition. Equipped cards will be destroyed if their target isn't face-up on the Monster Card Zones, or has become incorrect target. Also, they will be destroyed if the effect that make them Equip Card is disappear (like negating the effect of "Morphtronic Vacuumen").

Existence restrictions. Cards on the field might be destroyed if an effect doesn't allow them to exist on the field (like flipping "Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu" face-up by card effect while you control another on). Or if the condition that make them remain on the field is vanished (like "Swords of Revealing Light" after the 3rd turn).

Occupied Card Zone. Cards your opponent control might be destroyed if the control is switched while you have no empty Card Zone for them (like using the effect of "Informer Spider" while you control 5 monsters).

Usually, cards in the Main Deck and Banished Zone cannot be destroyed.

Not all cards that send cards from the field to the Graveyard destroy them; cards like "Dark End Dragon", "Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation", "Number 50: Blackship of Corn", and one of the effects of "Number 7: Lucky Straight" send cards from the field to the Graveyard, but they do not destroy the cards, since they don't include the word "destroy" in the text, so these effects cannot be negated by effects like "Stardust Dragon", and other similar effects.