links/kinks/shades are not cv sources (well there is one in the bottom 1/3rd of kinks)- they modify cv
Maths is a great modulation source especially if you work your way through the illustrated manual a good few times - great intro to patching (and self -patching) modules
if you think : sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities
remembering that a sound source may be 1-n vcos or a complete voice
you'll be on a right track
modulation and utilities are where the 'secret sauce' in modular is hidden not in the cool shiny modules
how would you use more than 1 mixer: sub-mixer for audio -> filter -> vca -> main mixer (to combine with other voices), matrix mixer (can do send/return or modulation mixing etc) - you need more than just a final stage mixer!!!!
I have a rebel technology mix02 and a tesseract modular tex-mix for stereo mixing - both are fine - remember that you will probably need more channels in the future - tex-mix is good a god option as it is expandable!!! - currently mine has 8 mono channels and 4 stereo channels - I expect to add at least 8 more mono and maybe 4 more stereo channels + direct outs for recording - which will have cost about €500 in total - I diy them from full kits - all smd done already!
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities