Ended up starting with a Pam’s, plaits and beads… already having a blast. Should be years of fun and experimentation ahead. And I think the mantis was a solid choice. Not massive but room to build something interesting.
Thanks again to everyone for the helpful feedback and ideas!
@JimHowell1970 yes i hear ya, endgame was a poor choice of words.
@nickgreenberg suggested i could use some envelopes in the last barebones/starting build i posted and i was looking at the intellijel dual ADSR and the Xaoc Zadar... but now i'm wondering if i should just go with a MATHS instead of a more traditional envelope module to start?
Something like this (sorry to link another build idea). 
Gotcha, that makes sense. For fun I put together a potential “endgame” system but I’m gonna take it slow at first and see how it goes and see where things take me.
@nickgreenberg yeah, i wanted to just scale it back and make sure i get essentials before going into the more fun (and larger) stuff like morphagene and maybe beads/tapo delay/etc.
need envelopes for sure. i'll look into stages or possible clones (too bad about mutable stuff slowly going away). the doperfer single ADSR seems like a good simple utility, or maybe the intellijel dual ADSR for more functionality. the xaoc zadar seems really powerful, too, but i haven't looked at it closely.
i'll check out the SISM and Triplatt, as well. probably hard to envision how useful these kinda modules are until yr actually using them. and i'll check out the batumi expander, as well. might look at the FXAid Pro, too. might be worth it for the screen alone.
thanks again. just ordered a plaits so it looks like i'm slowly on my way.
Yeah, that makes sense. The Batumi seems more like a bread and butter LFO while the Ochd seems like something nice and compact that can provide some easy movement for patches.
I'm thinking about this now as a starting point (or probably even more minimal to begin with) instead of what I originally posted but we'll see. I still have to do a little more research and take everyone's feedback into consideration, I think. Thanks again.
Thanks, everyone. I'll have to check out the utility modules that Nick mentioned. The Ochd looks really interesting and handy. Probably hard to go wrong having both that and Batumi down the line. The FXAid you mentioned also seems like a good idea, especially to start out. And I'll have to check out the chaos modules you mentioned, as well.
Lot to consider and I appreciate all the help.
Thanks everyone for the thoughtful feedback. I haven't bought anything yet, so I'll definitely go with a Mantis and not worry about size/expansion/having to pick smaller modules/etc.
I was mostly concerned about utility/basic type modules and if I was missing anything obvious that would work well and compliment what I had in the case already, or just general essentials. Or if what I had didn't make any sense at all.
As far as the Benjolin goes, that seemed like a good option for an out there crazy oscillator for noisy stuff, but I haven't looked at it enough. Maybe I'd be better off going with a simpler 2nd voice/oscillator to start. I'll have to look at it more. Same goes for the Bastl filter. I didn't look at it too closely or get too deep into seeing what other filter options are available. As for the Intellijel Mixup, I wonder if there are better options for a case this size or if there is a mixer with 1/4" outputs? I'll have to look into that more. I know everyone loves MATHS and maybe I should consider that. Befaco Rampage seems like another useful module that I've messed with in VCV Rack. And I'm still really interested in morphagene/ahbar, so I'll have to read other threads as to what people say about how those two compare.
As Jim said, I'll probably buy as few modules as I think I can to start out. Good advice.
Thanks again for all the comments, I appreciate it!
Just realized I'm missing 1/4" outputs as well as a headphone out... which would probably be good to have.
So, after messing with VCV rack for a bit now, I'm thinking of getting into hardware. I'm interested in experimental/ambient/noise/general sound exploration and also using the system to process guitar and maybe other instruments/audio.
I went with the Mantis size rack after seeing people recommend that on here. Although I'm thinking maybe starting out with a smaller system could be a good idea, too... something like one of those small powered Doepfer 48hp or 84hp cases. Obviously, it's a trade off in terms of being able to grow your system but also probably not a bad idea to start smaller and not invest so much money right off the bat and not have so much at your fingertips right away.
I have other gear I could potentially integrate such as a keystep, behringer model D, moog grandmother, digitakt. Didn't really look too much into percussion modules. But maybe a simple one could be nice to have in this system.
Other modules I'm interested in are the morphagene and arhbar which seem similar but don't know if they overlap too much with beads.
Thanks!
