User blog comment:MOTZI/Think About It - Marksman's fate/@comment-8802138-20140323113012/@comment-5209745-20140323133211

Mages kinda have 250% damage on spells. Their AP easily ends being twice as much as your common 300~400 AD, and although a spell won't usually go over 80% AP ratio, you have to take into consideration base damages and the sum of those and AP ratios all over a mage's kit (Which should go around 750+(250% AP), or even higher). That's why in seasons 2 and 3 mages were also called "carries".