How do I go from newb with a battle box to competing.

So what you'll probably want to do is pick a theme force and run with it. All of ours are good but Storm Division and Gravediggers are both really big deals with lots of build variety and options strong enough to justify being the cornerstone of any pairing. Heavy Metal and Sons of the Tempest are great, understand- Storm Division and Gravediggers are just easy go-to options.

Other advice is that the best way to get better is to play with people who want you to get better as well. One of the best metas in any game that I ever played in was a local store's card game group. Everyone there was strong and competitive but the environment was more about the store instead of winning. The groups dedication was to our meta, making the best group of players we possibly could, so that a number of us could make it to nationals or worlds and one of us could win. With Warmachine having team tournaments I think an ethos like that is even more valuable to have than ever. You want to play against opponents who will point out the weak points in your list or in your play and make you consider options you overlooked before. That'll help you improve quicker than anything else.

To piggyback on this, ask questions.  Ask a lot of questions.  When you are playing with someone, tell them you will ask a lot of questions because you want to learn.  "Why did you do that?  Why did you put that model there?  Could you have put it somewhere else?  Why didn't you spend all your focus?  Are you worry about getting assassinated?  Why or why not?"  etc.

As a slower player, I've got a comment on Storm Division. I've found that when I'm trying to play a game in a reasonable timeframe, Storm Division always kills it for me. It's not just the fact that with each lightning generator I've got to resolve up to four damage rolls. It's also the complexity of positioning models close enough to others to grant benefits. The firefly has to be in position to grant ionization. The strider, laddermore, and Stormblade captain grant bonuses if they're close enough. The stormblade infantry needs the storm rod to be close enough, and you need to remember that their range and damage vary based on positioning, and if they assault, each has two attacks with different RAT and MAT depending on whether the storm rod, laddermore, or the storm strider is close enough. You're doing all this for the entire unit, each of whom might have two attacks. This is why I could never play storm division on deathclock. I can do it, and it's fun, it's just not fast.

I would head to gravediggers and a couple casters that complement that style well. Chargers are also very very good light jacks with journeyman's and jack marshals (how times change). I've never done a list without at least one and felt happy with it.

I would almost recommend not starting with themes and just play some of everything, get a feel for how the game works and what you want to play with. Themes can pigeon hole you. They are the state of the game right now for competitiveness, as 8 to 24 free points really does make a world of difference.

See what sounds cool, explore some interactions, proxy or borrow some models, and then settle into a theme list and play it to the point of mastery. I know I started with cygnar and my bad lists that we're interesting were what taught me the most about the game and keeping time (Sloan gunline with 2 grenadier marshalled to atgm and 2 trencher master gunners) it wasn't a good list, but it was fun. That got me interested in other, more effective and quicker lists.

I would worry about time last. Once you're comfortable, buy a chess clocks and play a few deathclock games. The first few will give you diagnosable anxiety, but it gets better.

I hope this has helped some! Integrate what parts of this jives with you into what others have said and give it a spin. And congratulations on joining the only good guys in warmachine. Everyone else is your enemy

Also try and magnetise your heavy jacks