So i was looking at elementz tier list ( incoming downvotes) and was trying to get inside his head about why he places certain champs where he does, and since i mostly main mages, i started looking at the 2 pure mages in tier 1, as well as kennen, who frankly i would rank as tier one, but is almost there since hes the top of 2.

random points aside, i was wondering why these 3 mages are so much better than any other mage, what really sets them apart from anyone else, and then it hit me. farming/cc, but mostly farming. lets look at our mages for a sec

annie- free easymode last hit spell for early game, to get allllll the creeps, and then a nice aoe that can hit almost all the creeps in a lane for later in the game.
farms like a boss? check

anivia- difficult early game farming because of her ridiculous autoattack animation and damage, but once she hits 6, every wave more than 3 creeps is dead in 4.3 seconds, and the cash rolls in.
farms like a boss? check

kennen- early game he has free spams that he can use to harass or last hit, and an excellent autoattack to last hit with as well. later, lightning rush plus w active ( and a shuriken if there is a cannon minion) nets you 7 creeps in under 3 seconds, and you can repeat this as much as you want
farms like a boss? check

seriously, i was playing earlier as kennen, doing two inhouses with a competitive team and then later going and doing a ranked 5man with that team, and got anywhere between 200-400 minions per game (counting neutrals) when most people consider 200 a goodly farmed game. 400 minions in a ranked game, hell i didnt even need the kills to max out my build. this is why they are the best casters, not because their spells are by themselves, any more amazing than others (although yeah cc is a great tool for casters since they need a way to keep dps off of them) but because they can farm better than any other caster
yes they were a bit longer, but still, a fully farmed mage that can start buying elixirs is a fully farmed mage that has elixirs, dangerous no matter who you are.

even the support mages, janna and morgana, both have excellent farming tools that can clear an entire wave alone once you have the ap (which you can get from *SURPRISE* farming) this is why they're boss, and tier one.

farming items > ganks for kills/assists
especially since you get more money for one creep wave than you do for an assist

Good job for pointing out the obvious.

Also they provide lots of utility.

im trying to point out to all the tryhards that sit in a bush for 3 minutes waiting to gank a side lane, that they could be farming and getting more money for it anyway.

Annie has a gigantic CCsplosion and Anivia has the wall.
That's why.

They both have amazing control as well as burst. Annie has her aoe stun. Kennen stuns everyone in his ult. Anivia has a stun, aoe slow and a wall. Yeah they're really good.