A friend and I are planning on buying a case, opening it and drafting the pieces we want from it. I have been trying to put together a draft list either of figures that I want to grab first, or things that I want to avoid all together. I have been rather overwhelmed by the amount of information. This set seems balanced enought that there don't seem to be any that are must have pieces or just absolute junk. (beyond Tara and Natasha, or any ordinary vehicle respectively)
Can anyone help me out?

I did this exact same thing with Counterassault. The information can be overwhelming, so here's the best thing to do:

Break everything down into categories of 'Mech, Vehicle, Infantry, and the different CECs (Planetary Condition, Situational Alliance, Faction Pride, Pilot, Gear). BattlePlanner is a great tool for this, since you can just use the filters to do it real easy-like. Then construct your list out of each of those categories. Rank every unit you want from 1-to-whatever, highest-priority first. Look for things that fit your playstyle and rank them highest, followed by pieces you think you'll want, good trade stock, etc.

When you draft, organize everything into pools, the way you've ranked units. I don't think your buddy will mind this, since it keeps everything straightforward. As you open your boosters (which is really half the fun), set aside mulitples of Uniques/LEs. Make sure each of you gets one of the multiples first, then draft the remainder.

It's easiest to draft out of pools, like this:

Group 1: Uniques/LEs
Group 2: Non-unique 'Mechs
Group 3: Vehicles
Group 4: Infantry (either singles or groups of 2 or 3, whatever you want)
Group 5: Pilot cards
Group 6: Gear cards

And so on and so on. No one can draft from another group until every unit in the current group is drafted. As you go through the unit pools, keep your draft sheet handy. Use it to mark off units you've drafted, and use it to help decide which unit to draft when you're not sure which one to take. Be faithful to your draft sheet, and you'll walk away with a collection that's (hopefully) to your liking.

This kind of system helps both people walk away with equal amounts of good stuff, and equal amounts of poo. That is, assuming both players did their homework coming in.

When you get your case in, have both people throw in ten bucks for a couple of pizzas and drinks and just make an afternoon of it. It's great fun.

Thanks Trevor. We had already planned to break it down like you mentioned. My dilemma is with sorting through all of the material. It takes a little longer since I am bound to the Units section here (Mac=no BattlePlanner). There also aren't that many pieces that have generated much buzz yet.