This is a good hint, because every event that leads to a life change: either it increases them, that means you get lifes
In all cases, its possible to build your deck to have an advantage in the tug of war (combine Flailing Soldier with Strip Mine, or play Drooling Ogre as a sideboard card against artifact-free decks), but in general, the winning move is to never play the game in the first place
Totally in your purview to ask them to provide some sort of support for that when it is outside the overwhelming bank of data supporting the opposite claim
- Athreos forces life payments or returns them to hand
Two mana to effectively remove an opponent from attacking you for most of the game is a bargain and this card will definitely be undervalued
Thus, the card is maximally useful against removal with an odd casting cost