How does one effectively zone out enemies and protect allies when playing a mage with high area-of-effect damage?

Effectively zoning out enemies and protecting allies when playing a mage with high area-of-effect (AoE) damage involves strategic positioning, predictive aiming, and controlling key areas of the map to create a zone of threat that discourages enemy engagement while providing a safe zone for your teammates. The mage should position themselves behind the frontline, maximizing their range while minimizing their exposure to enemy damage. The mage needs to anticipate the enemy's movements and aim their AoE skills to intercept them, forcing them to either retreat or take significant damage. By controlling key areas, such as chokepoints, objective spawns, and jungle entrances, the mage can effectively zone out the enemy and prevent them from accessing those areas. This creates a safe zone for your teammates to farm, secure objectives, or rotate to other lanes. Use vision control to identify enemy movements and anticipate their positioning. Combine your AoE damage with ally crowd control to guarantee hits on enemy heroes. For example, use your AoE attack where your tank has stunned the enemy. An example is using an AoE skill near the Turtle pit to stop the enemy from contesting, effectively zoning them.