Ya, pedals are cool, but won't make a difference coming out of a low quality amp. I do however have to point out some good reasons TO get pedals first though. Simply to learn how to use them. Once you ad distortion, or mess with a wah, delay, or any other pedal, you'll quickly find out that it's a whole other thing to learn on guitar. Your sound changes and the way you PLAY changes as well.

So you can get a couple pedals (distortion is usually the first people get. I got a wah-wah 2nd).

Also, let's face it. Distortion and other effects just sound cool. Even out of a bad amp. It'll give you a little more confidence and drive to keep playing. If you just play out of the amp without messing with effects, it might be "boring" to some beginners.

Whatever you buy (pedals or investing in a new amp) think about how long you want it to last. If you know you are going to stick with guitar for a while, save up and spend that extra money for the quality gear. It'll last you forever and you won't have to re-buy stuff when you outgrow them.

The guitar I use most now is my first electric I ever bought. AMERICAN Fender Strat. I made the decision in 7th grade that I loved guitar and would be playing forever, so I chose not to buy the cheaper Mexican Strat and instead invested in the American. Also have the same wah-wah. My distortion pedal was junk, but it did make me feel cool playing it, which drove me to continue.

Edit: As far as the Vyper goes, I would recommend only buying it if you can afford the footswitch. With modeling amps like that, there are too many different things you can do with it. You can't keep walking to your amp, turning dials and pressing buttons every time you want to change your sound. You need that footpedal to do it quickly. That's one of the reasons I didn't buy a Vyper and went for a ValveKing instead.

The up side to that is with the vyper, you don't need to buy as many pedals since the amp does what you need. So basically, buy a vyper+footswitch, or buy a NON-modeling amp+pedals.

Don't feel like you have to rush and buy things now though. It's almost always better to have patience and wait while you save up for something you NEED, rather than spend the money you have now on stuff you WANT.