Slitherine

I still think its the same thing, being a skirmisher puts you into skirmish formation, which is proven by light infantry who can be either in skirmish or tactical but not both. Even if lined up the same as tactical unit, skirmishers are in skirmish formation and evade.

It was brought up way back when rules released where most people thought you had to be in a single line as skirmishers,confusion was caused by the whole reg light cav in single line, but the way you line up the bases as a skirmishing unit is irrelevant, they always evade as they are in a different formation from tactical.

But we aren't talking about infantry skirmisher or infantry skirmish formation - that is quite clearly described in the rules as light infantry in skirmish formation which we sorted out to be either 2x2 bases or 4x1 bases.

Light cavalry skirmish formation is described as being "Extended Line" for regular light cavalry and irregular light cavalry. This is 4x1 bases. So what is irregular light cavalry in 2x2 bases? The rules do not state this with respect to light cavalry skirmishers, yet the rules also state that 2x2 bases for cavalry is Tactical.

So if I have my Cossacks in a 2x2 bases arrangement I take them as skirmishers (open order, whizzing around but not fighting that well) in Tactical (sotnyas lined up behind each other for support).

Just to clarify:

being in skirmish formation does not preclude that unit from also being in tactical or extended line formation.

An irregular light cavalry unit will always be in skirmish formation, but, if also in tactical formation it will be able to intercept.