[thejeff]

I agree that the prophet scout isn't always the best plan. Especially in EA, where indy scouts are rare, that may be the only scout you'll have for awhile, unless you use precious castle turns building your national scouts.

Making your starting commander a prophet has the advantage of being slightly less vulnerable to stray arrows (and leaving your scout free to scout), but the disadvantage of having higher fatigue due to armor. Also you can't patrol first turn for more money. It's a trade off.