Infinite: The card Game Idea

(Skip to IDEAs If you want to see where I am in the design process)
This is a card game of Infinite* expansion.. that's the idea anyway.
I've looked around and there are game's similar but they lack the basic mechanic for making them infinity expandable.

Games like: The duke (an excellent game), For the Crown (second edition) and Knightmare Chess (Steve Jackson Games) all touch on this idea but are limited.. which I will explain here.

This idea will allow for multiple games, game types and players, game makers and thinkers alike to have fun in a way that hasn't been approached before.

Similar to Magic: The Gathering, this game will have many cards, But unlike Magic, the cards in Infinite* will each have a pair. In other words you won't be at a disadvantage for not having an equal or as powerful of a card because your opponent will have an opportunity to use the same card!

So if you have ever heard of Fairy chess pieces or chess variations this may sound familiar. It was in the search of a Meta game for chess that I discovered an opportunity to create just such a game.

Problems arise: namely card/piece creation.
Solution #1: make a better notation, and make it look cool.
Well, what kind of notations are there already?
Partlett's movement Notation (Wikipedia)
Ralph Betza's "funny notation" (also Wikipedia)

these are terrific, but not as efficient and expandable. For example: mfwcfF in Ralph Betza's "funny notation" describes a chess pawn.. without describing en passant AND it's initial double move!

Well we can't have that.. especially when having special powers is what makes pieces so cool.

(IDEAS)
Problem: card/piece creation
So Solution #1: How to:
1. Grid idea
This is simple, instead of algebraic notation, which is basically abbreviated sentences, use a picture. (picture's worth a 1000 words)
2. Symbols
One symbol can represent multiple ideas (such as movement or capture) depending on which grid spot it's on.
3. Numbers
This can describe a symbol's quantity
4. Colors
I was hoping to use this, not to define mechanics, but elemental variation and "fun" as it were to make it a bit more collectible and rock-paper-scissors style.

Problem: size/efficiency
With all of these ideas or symbols on one card, also small enough to be a piece on the board.. tough.

Solution: Chinese? Japanese? For the Crown style? limit the types of cards?
Well here i'm interested in ideas. I've created art for basic pieces and for 2 inch by 2 inch cards the symbols become incredibly small. I've been using a 5 by 5 grid. We could definitely use 3 by 3 for that kind of piece. But thinking ahead, complicated pieces.. how do we fit all that info and variant info on one card?
One solution is to make eventual limitations. the idea was when a symbol for a new mechanic that is based on previous ideas or concepts it would be a combination of those symbols. basic idea. Open circle for single step. Cross for capture. combine and there you go! single step and capture. but then it's the same problem with the original notations, lots of symbols not too efficient.

Anyway, long post but just ideas floating around.
*Name pending

These are intentionally vague, I hope to get more ideas
(a terrific site I found was: http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/taxonomy.html
)
CARD creation rules
Rule #1
No HEALTH! This will allow to keep things at a core and stop numbers from attacking the game mechanics. However there are many many things or possible ideas
(although... ;)

Rule #2
Size starts off at 2" size. In other words expansions could have bigger or weirder sized pieces

Rule #3
Whatever you think a piece can do on a board.. it can. Just tell it to.

So what are some base base base ideas?

Movement
Capturing
change of powers/abilities during the game
Kinetics or ability to effect other pieces besides capture
Abilities based on Number/type/condition of other pieces on the board

**Remember no health! this is helpful cause whats the point of saying: oh it's partly dead, or super powered? Just say that and then the piece is either Alive, Dead, or Other. NAME the OTHER. if you apply an arbitrary number to the other it stops from the creation of other brilliant concepts.***
(I know that it can all be boiled down to numbers, that's not the point. Chess can be boiled down to numbers in a computer program. But again this is attempting to allow for other ideas)

Defensive positions -again no health, rather, based on position on board or other characteristics
Relationships to other pieces (this includes things like Castling)
Value (not necessarily a number but more likely a type or categorizing attribute)
Changing the Board
Changing other pieces
changing the Rules during the game
height (underground, level, sky)
Element (earth, wind fire etc.)
and so much more...

These are intentionally not rules but suggestions.
Again this game is angled towards game makers, but shareable and playable with players as well. But to get into the game, one usually has to come up with ideas mechanics. In other words, this game promotes creating mechanics to cards!

I'm not sure :)
I guess Infinite instead of Infinity because there were a couple really old games called infinity and I was worried about copyright infringement... I'd like to do "Infinite" or your "B" answer haha