On-chain "cutting in line" basically means someone can see first, queue first, and act first.

The biggest impact isn't from whales making a one-shot deal, but from those ordinary orders who think they can just press a button to execute: slippage gets eaten, execution prices worsen, or even in your view, you "buy in," but in reality, you end up "lifting a sedan for others."
From a market-making perspective, this is like secretly moving the originally public order book psychology into the sorting layer to play with it.

Recently, the airdrop season is back, and the task platforms are becoming more and more complex with anti-snipe measures, points systems making sniping as routine as clocking in at work...
Then a bunch of people interact at the same second, and MEV bots are even happier.
Do you call that fair? I don't want to pretend to be a saint, but seeing everyone hustle just to pay the "line-cutting fee" is a bit annoying.
Anyway, I now prefer to go slower, do it in batches, and avoid rushing during hot periods—missing that one needle won't kill me.