Towering forward Nikola Zigic wasn't a welcome presence on Blackpool's skyline as his late strike denied the Seasiders victory in an entertaining encounter at Bloomfield Road.
The hosts appeared to be on course for the win after Stephen Crainey and Neal Eardley cancelled out Marlon King's opener, but the 6"6 Serbian international popped up from the bench to earn the Blues a priceless point with a composed finish.
Ian Holloway's side were unable to extract revenge for the two defeats inflicted by their visitors in the Premier League last season, but on the plus side, maintained their four-match unbeaten record and put in a performance that will have fans dreaming they can reach the promised land again.
"I'm very disappointed, but the game was a fantastic advert for this division," claimed the Seasiders boss.
His side have mostly relied on their front-line to find the back of the net this season, but two unlikely sources provided finishes of real quality that the absent Kevin Phillips would have been proud of.
Blackpool's top scorer missed the game against his former employers through injury, along with regular starters Craig Cathcart and Keith Southern.
"With the players of quality I had missing today, I've got to be delighted with the result," admitted Holloway.
Birmingham may have enjoyed a number of cultural excursions during their recent Europa League campaign, but were well and truly brought back down to earth on a wet and windy afternoon on the Fylde Coast.
The visitors crafted the first clear-cut chance in the fifth minute when Chris Burke broke the offside trap and pulled the ball back to Wade Elliot yards from goal, but Barry Ferguson made a vital block against his former club.
Blackpool responded when Matt Phillips - making his first start since returning from a loan spell at Sheffield United - ran onto Lomana LuaLua's through-ball but fired inches wide.
On the quarter-hour mark, Matt Gilks underlined his goal-keeping qualities with a miraculous save to deny Marlon King's point-blank header.
But the Blues, who had previously found the net against all top-half opposition they have faced this season, continued the trend by breaking the deadlock in the 29th minute.
Wade Elliott's through-ball caught the Blackpool defence flat-footed and Jamaican striker King had plenty of time to pick his spot and roll the ball into the bottom corner.
Blackpool raced up the other end from the restart and LuaLua came agonisingly close to scoring with a wicked curling effort that sailed inches past Boaz Myhill's post.
The equaliser did arrive seconds later though when Crainey ran onto LuaLua's through-ball and poked the ball beyond Myhill for only his second goal in four years.
Ferguson could have put the home side ahead before the interval, but his shot on the turn sailed wide.
Moments into the second period, Matt Phillips spurned an absolute sitter from 10 yards after being fed by LuaLua.
But the Seasiders weren't to rue the missed opportunity as Eardley produced a moment of brilliance to put them into the lead.
The Welshman received the ball on the edge of the box and curled a beauty beyond the despairing Myhill that sent Bloomfield Road into raptures.
On the hour mark, Gilks came to Blackpool's rescue once again by producing a tremendous reaction save from Burke's rifled effort.
With five minutes remaining, it looked like Zigic had condemned Birmingham to defeat after heading embarrassingly wide from Keith Fahey's cross with the goal at his mercy.
But he atoned for his wastefulness moments later, slotting home tidily after bringing down Elliott's cross.
It was a fair result in conclusion, as both teams remain on the edge of the Championship play-off zone.
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