After that 18 streak that was in the top ten I haven't really been able to get anything going. Shifting Passages is always a pain in the butt and Gorgon just complicates matters on top of that. I only had enough steam to get through Evolia and really just had nothing left to get out of the corner, let alone take on the other boss. It sounds like prepping Elite Items might have given me the oomph I needed but that prep can backfire. I should have realized the Sword wouldn't be that useful but I was afraid of not getting the low cost items and the third option was something dumb like a TT prep for Gorgon or something.
Also, remembering that Earthmother is in fact an option would have helped; I forgot she only cares about blood magic, not poison.