Burst mages are in need of buffs

You never see traditional burst mages anymore. Before you say, "but Viktor/Vlad/Annie just bursted me last game." that's not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to mid-game heavy champions that gain 100-0 potential around level 6-7. The reasons you don't see it is because they either got converted into frontloaded damage DPS champions (think how Viktor can ERQ you for 50% of your health but can't 100-0 you unless you get stunned/CC'd prior and eat about 5-6 seconds worth of combo) or just aren't easily playable in high elo because of their one trick playstyles (the only real examples I can think of are Veigar and Lux).

Even for other burst mages who are doing fine though, it just feels bad to dive the backline. Like, I'd much rather just sit in the back and poke the front until botlane is like 50% health or less because otherwise they'll survive due to the huge amount of tools they have at their disposal. To count, back in S4 they had Exhaust, Heal, Mikael's, probably a lantern/black shield, and a BT (botrk if you were Vayne). Now, they have both Exhaust and Heal as well as Redemption/Locket, a significant heal/shield spell coupled with Windspeaker's, Warlord's + Ardent Censer, and a GA/QSS/Maw.

The reason we've reached this point is Riot continually adds CDR but removes raw AP. They also add items that aid in survivability or make them more accessible to squishy AD champions. Of course, most AP champions can make do (especially Syndra and Orianna, who are fine poking down the front line with Morello/Liandry's), but it simply doesn't work for other champions. Their one trick playstyles worked years ago but absolutely require you to get fed now, and people are harder to kill than ever, doubly hurting them every time a strong defensive item gets introduced.

That's why Lux has buffs on the PBE, but for her and other burst mages I would instead suggest 1 of 2 routes.

1. Give every AP champion the Annie treatment. During the Mid-Year mage update, Riot nerfed Annie's upfront damage in favor of a stronger Tibbers, lending to Annie's DPS capabilities and use as a CC bot until she gets fed or hits late-game (at which point she can fully burst carries again every time her flash is up). Updating champions this way gives them some DPS after their initial burst and allows them to do something about the frontline running them down, while maintaining their niche (if at a cost of being weaker). For example, Ori and Taliyah DPS the front line, but Ori is used for her teamfight potential while Taliyah is used for her wall's catching capabilities.

2. Make burst great again. You used to get 700-850 AP from full build in seasons 4 and 5, now you get 450-650. Thunderlord's helps make up for the lost damage but AD survivability tools such as Hexdrinker being usable for the rest of the cast or QSS generally being a great option (since it's lifesteal addition back in like 2015) have made the pure burst options unreliable. This would be accomplished by updating items that DPS mages don't make the greatest use of. This would involve buffing items like Luden's so that it competes with Liandry's. Luden's is a good item to buff because the top tier mages like Cassiopeia, Orianna, and Taliyah can't use it particularly well while it's a great item for Ziggs, Xerath, and Lux (all of whom are receiving buffs this patch). Another possibility (not my first choice since Orianna and Syndra like dcap, although Taliyah, Cass, and Viktor usually can't get it) is lowering the cost of dcap since it's exorbitantly high priced at the moment and rarely anyone can buy it until a 4th/5th item, if at all.