Why convert the starting scout to a prophet in turn 1

[thejeff]

And it's a niche situation that doesn't require a stealthy prophet.

A stealthy prophet might be useful against a nearby low dominion nation, but you don't know you've got one of those when you appoint your first prophet.
And if you're using him for that you don't get to use him in battle. And run the risk of him being caught by patrollers.

[Squirrelloid]

Originally Posted by thejeff

And it's a niche situation that doesn't require a stealthy prophet.

A stealthy prophet might be useful against a nearby low dominion nation, but you don't know you've got one of those when you appoint your first prophet.
And if you're using him for that you don't get to use him in battle. And run the risk of him being caught by patrollers.

Stealth preaching, unlike a spy's 'create unrest' ability, does not give your opponent any warning. So he wouldn't know to patrol (and PD, even large amounts of PD, are inefficient at catching sneaking units).

Also, its a tool in his toolkit - you can use him in support of your army, but a stealthy prophet *also* provides the capability to stealth preach and domspread, which you might find useful.

And as has been mentioned, you can always kill him off to make someone else prophet later, with little consequence to your military position.