ICE's now-out-of-print CCG (they lost their license to produce Middle-Earth products in 1999). Players take the role of the Istari, or Wizards - most familiarly Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast, but also Pallando and Alatar - in the struggle against Sauron in Middle-Earth. Each player competes to bring the greatest strength to bear against the Shadow, including Factions such as the Riders of Rohan or the Great Eagles, allies like Gwaihir or Shadowfax, items such as the lost Palantiri, Glamdring, or Narsil, and the completion of various quests - from the relatively straightforward rescue of prisoners through the involved Reforging of the Sword that was Broken, restoration of the White Tree to Minas Tirith, or the quest of quests, the destruction of the One Ring.
Players build decks in which half are composed of resource cards and half of hazards, dedicated to the stopping of your opponent. This is where the big bad guys come in, with cards for the 9 Nazgul, a couple Dragons (Smaug being the recognizable one), Shelob, and the Balrog.
Although the MeCCG is no longer in print, pre-constructed Challenge decks are readily available for purchase on the internet, and are a great way to get into the game. For many resources for the game, or to find an active play group near you, check out http://www.councilofelrond.org/ and http://www.meccg.net/.
Artist: Rob Alexander, Randy Asplund-Faith, Stefano Baldo, Melissa Benson, Derek Carbonneau, Doug Chaffee, Storn Cook, Audrey Corman, Liz Danforth, David R. Deitrick, Lori Dietrick, Tom Dow, Darryl Elliott, Pete Fenlon, Olivier Frot, Randy Gallegos, Donato Giancola, Jo Hartwig, Jason Hawkins, Quinton Hoover, Heather Hudson, April Lee, David G. Martin, Angus McBride, Gail McIntosh, Ken Meyer, Jr., Angelo Montanini, Nick Morawitz, Pat Morrissey, Jessica Ney, Margaret Organ-Kean, Mark Poole, Jeff Reitz, Ronald Shuey, Brian Snoddy, Ron Spencer, Susan Van Camp, Christina Wald, Kevin Ward, Dameon Willichmore»
For each of the ten Challenge Decks I put the playtips from the rulebook, along with a complete list of all cards in the deck, on a cardsized piece of paper (front and back). These store perfectly with the decks. Now you can have the playtips and an overview of which cards are in your deck with you every time you play.