His representation here is quite simple and useful: use life as a resource to cast artifacts
A common choice is Tormod, the Desecrator, or Desecrated Tomb, which create tokens when a creature leaves the battlefield
People order the MEGA for moments that deserve a bigger canvas: a milestone year, a personal achievement, a fan tribute, an exceptional photo that loses too much detail at standard card size
Zombies focused on creating a massive horde of creatures and Vampires drained opponents through aggro and lifegain
This makes at least one player less likely to want that creature removed than if you put the aura on your own creature
This incentivizes the use of self-milling abilities as well as creatures with a litany of keywords, and once these ability counters have been put on creatures, Kathril gets that many +1/+1 counters, allowing it to serve as a noteworthy threat in its own right