So, I'm not new to programming, but am new to game development. I seem to not be able to identify a good way to handle a card objects. For example, I have the following two methods in my head.
1) have all cards from both players in a list with a corresponding variable to show ownership, and position on board. These Nodes will be all located under a single node, and they do not move throughout the tree. The reasoning behind this was to ensure I don't potentially "lose" a card.
2) Have each card node under separate nodes representing locations on the board. That way I can query each location to see what cards are there.

My current method of creating said cards, at the beginning of the game, is to have each player enter the game with a list of card ids that represent the cards in their deck. Then have the board g
generate each card and the start the game. The board locations may have to accommodate holding multiple cards like Hearthstone, but will have slots for single cards only

I can see the pros and cons of both, but I'm still not convinced that either method would be scalable. Does anyone have a better solution for this?

    Forceofaqua changed the title to Which development method should I take when dealing with cards on a board? .

    Forceofaqua consider using Dictionaries and Arrays to pull from them (I am guessing you are familiar with these). I am currently working on a similar pet project but I also am learning, so consider this an untested hypothesis.

    Say you have an array that stores everything you need for a card. You can store a resource (like say, the card's art) and then a name, a string for text and some values. Then you can also assign it a type and if it has a type, it uses its values for whatever function you need. After that, it's just a lot of math. Ok, it's probably more than that, but that's a start.

    var _GoblinExample = {
      "Name": "Goblin Example",
      "Art": "res://insertfilepathhere.png", ### you could just use a saved resource too.
      "Attack": 1,
      "Health": 2.
      "Text": "This goblin is a beginner example.",
  }

    Once you have a dictionary of the card data, you can nest those into a dictionary that serves as a MASTER list.

    const _MASTERLIST = {_GoblinExample,_MageExample,_SoldierExample}

    You have a second array with the card names that pulls from the MASTER to be your COLLECTION. (unless it's like poker then skip to the next step)

    During a round, you have a third array that pulls from the COLLECTION to make a DECK.

    Then your final array pulls from the DECK to make your HAND.

    After that, code your card objects to use the data within to populate your cards (and you can even use, say the name you pulled all the way back from the MASTER LIST as a key to pull your values from the Dictionary.

    Note: you can't compare values between Dictionaries in Godot, nor can you erase elements from them because this will throw up errors. Hence why they are perfect for a Master List because you won't be changing these base values - and they're just a reference in the end anyways, as you'll like up things like attack power or defense within the array, which you can edit all day and not have problems, provided the code works.

    ANYONE who wants to optimize this, feel free. I'd be intrigued to see what more experienced devs have to teach here.

    In case you need the Docs:
    Dictionaries - Official Docs