Long time listener, first time caller...
I've recently read about a "Furball" dogfight scenario variant that is intended to introduce new players without adding too much for them to think about all at once.
For those who haven't heard the term, each player gets 3 ships, but only 1 ship is introduced on the play field at a time until destroyed, and then the player brings in the next ship (similar to a BattleTech "grinder" game). The ship costs are 30, 35, and 40 points respectively. This also gives the new player some exposure to the upgrade cards (Cannons, Missiles, Elites, etc) while still limited what they need to know at any given moment during the game.
I've been trying to build 3 roughly balanced groups of Rebels, Imperials and Scum for a 3 player dog-fight, but I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with the lists. I think I'm having the most difficulty with the Imperials (although what I've created for them is probably the simplest in terms of new player accessibility). My concern with the Rebels and Scum lists is the over emphasis on secondary weapons in order to achieve the point allotment. I'm not entirely sure how fragile those ships will be against an Imperial player with fewer options, but higher point pilots and maneuverable ships.
Please make suggestions, especially if there are simpler/leaner builds that would be better for new players in this format. I was considering making it 25, 30, 35 points to keep the ships upgrades more sparse, and bring in some lesser TIEs.