CO is always tricky, but today's setup was perhaps more mellow than usual. With my preps I had lots of choices, in the end I went for a mono-TT approach, but I think both Earthmother or Dracul could be useful today.
I recommend taking the Transmutation Seal because otherwise there is no way to enter the secret sub, which is quite a head start. (I stoned a slowed L1 and then slowed Glenrick, plus had learnings, so I got 46 XP for him, that's almost a Yendor...

I made a choice to rather keep the BattleMage Ring (I was considering converting it and buying the Martyr Wraps instead), I kind of regretted that when I realized that the Shade Boss sports high resists and so the Wraps would've given more damage against him. Then again, the gold I saved did give me +10 piety, so who knows which was better?

Ran out of steam during the mop-up, I always forget how resource-intense those AAs are to mop up. And since I play without Blackspace, I couldn't regen-fight them, so I could only go on as long as my potions lasted.