starting from scratch with hardware

Hi all. Long time lurker of this sub-forum. I've learned some incredibly useful stuff here over the last couple years as I have become more and more interested in mastering. My background/day job for the last 5+ years has primarily been as an engineer/mixer, but I am feeling more and more aligned with making small, but deliberate moves on the stereo mix, finding ways to achieve competitive loudness that doesn't harm the mix, and focusing solely on deep critical listening in my space. I've been doing some mastering work here and there for clients and friends, but I'm feeling like I'd like to give it an honest go on making it the primary service I offer.

All of my mastering work has been in the box with the usual suspects, but I vastly prefer the ergonomics that a small one-bay mastering style desk with a few nice pieces in front of me could allow me to work with less emphasis on the screen. I have the option to either pick up a couple of used Maselec pieces (thinking of an MEA2 + MLA2 combo) or a few more esoteric/fun/slightly colored pieces instead (RND MBT, Great River MAQ-2NV, Terry Audio SEQ). I use a Black-Lion modded Apollo X series unit at the moment that sounds vastly more relaxed/transparent than the stock Apollo units, but I am considering a dedicated pitch/catch convertor as well, such as the newer Lynx Hilo 2 for the analog chain and feeding my monitors.

If you were starting from scratch, and wanted to invest in a couple of hardware pieces to get going, would you go the Maselec route, or opt for pieces that allow for more creative/coloring options as needed? Most of my clients are all ITB mixers, so a part of me is intrigued by having a bit more analog "vibe" on tap to add to projects that are missing it, but I also feel like Maselec is kind of the gold standard, and would require me to make moves that are more in line with a "do no harm" approach, instead of my love of hardware on a 2bus which seems like an extension of my mixer-brain.

Any advice is appreciated!